Soulmates
by VioletBaudelaire07
Summary: Sequel to Someone Who Understands; can be read as an independent story though. Spencer and Charlie start a long-distance relationship. But what happens when Spencer is haunted by disturbing childhood memories? M/M slash, rated M for a reason!
1. Why didn't he stay?

**Hi everyone! **

**As mentioned in the summary, this is the sequel to **_**Someone Who Understands**_** where Charlie Eppes and Spencer Reid meet and have their first date. Then I heard a song on the radio (**_**Incomplete**_** by the Backstreet Boys, if you must now... =P And no, I never liked them.), and it inspired me to write another story about what happened after that night. I decided to make it a new story so that I could adapt the rating.**

**Again, I'm not good at maths and made up all the math-related talk, do not take it seriously! Really, IT IS ALL COMPLETE BOLLOCKS! **

**I don't own any of the characters, they belong to those who invented them in the first place. **

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><p>Spencer stared at the screen of his computer and tried to focus. It was late and he was the only one left in the office. He felt exhausted and there was a headache beginning to form behind his eyes. But he was in the middle of filling out a report and really needed this done before he went home, he couldn't just leave it.<p>

_Weapon__(s) used_: 'Hatchet', he typed, 'brand: Bechstein, blade made of steel, 5.67 inches, handle made of walnut wood, 16 inches, with traces of blood from the victim.' _Scene of crime_: '49 Ivy Street, Montebello, Los Angeles.' _LA. That's 3677.886 kilometres or 2285.4383604 miles from here, linear distance. _There was an unpleasant feeling in Spencer's chest, like a ball of hurtful, fierce, acid fire that made it difficult to breathe. He swallowed but it didn't go away. _Motive_: -

"Hey kid, still here?"

He looked up and saw Morgan standing on the right side of his table clutching his bag.

"Um, yeah. I've got to finish this."

Morgan leaned closer and read the name of the case. "Henry Guess? Didn't you start filling that in half an hour ago? You still not finished that?"

"Yeah, I'm quite tired and got distracted..."

"Well, something seems to be on your mind indeed! You've been typing very slowly when I came into the bullpen."

Spencer just nodded but didn't want to elaborate on his thoughts, or feelings for that matter. If he could just finish this report and go home...

"In fact, you've been distracted since we're back from LA three days ago." Morgan raised an eyebrow. "You know that Garcia told me that on our last evening you had a date, and you never want to talk about it-"

"That's not even true!", he interrupted angrily. He was so incredibly tired of his teammates' teasing about this! "Why does everyone think I was on a date? I was just having a cup of coffee with a maths professor-"

"So was she nice?", Morgan grinned.

"Yes, _he_ was nice!"

That answer had the desired effect. "Oh! He... Sorry, I-"

"Garcia wouldn't listen, I told her that I was drinking coffee with someone and she just assumed it was a date! And she even had to tell all of you!", Spencer ranted.

"Well... you must admit that it's rare that you talk to people."

Spencer frowned in incomprehension at the other man.

"Except us, I mean. Or when it's case-related.", Morgan added. "I guess she just _hoped_ it was a date."

"We were talking about how to theoretically build a quantum displacement link. Professor Eppes managed to include light velocity into the famous Flecknoe Formula." He tried not to think about the look on Charlie's face when he had exclaimed _I've got it!_, or what they had been doing at that precise moment. Well, trying not to think about something makes you think of it, and Spencer miserably failed. His face burned and he hoped his friend wasn't looking at him too closely, he would surely notice him blushing. "Er... We used a detour through geometry and therefore we were able to explain the irregularities-"

"Um, I really need to go now!"

"Oh, but this is fascinating! I don't think anyone else has done this before!"

"Yeah... sounds like you had a great time. Sorry, but I've gotta dash, really!"

"Okay, see you tomorrow!", he called after Morgan. As he saw his teammate scurry out of the room he smiled to himself. His little plan had worked, he was alone again.

Alone with the Henry Guess-case and this very uncomfortable feeling inside him. His cheerful mood was damped by this thought, and he turned back to the screen. _Motive_:, he read. 'Jealousy', he typed. Numerous pictures of Charlie flashed in and out his mind, him smiling, him looking into his eyes. _Not now_, he thought, _just one more point to go_! Suddenly there was a vivid memory of how Charlie's hair had felt, how his neck had smelt... and tasted. He sighed and put his hands over his face_. _He shouldn't be thinking of that. All of a sudden it was hard to breathe and he had to blink away tears. He tried to focus on his report again._ Summary of accomplishment of case_: The bright, fierce light of the screen made him feel headachy.

No, Spencer decided, this would have to wait for tomorrow. He just didn't have the nerve to complete the file right now. With a heavy sigh he got up and collected this things in his brown leather bag.

_Why didn't he stay?_ It was the question he had asked himself a hundred times every day since he was back from Los Angeles. He had thought that there was a unique connection between him and Charlie, that they understood each other like no other person ever had. But apparently Charlie knew someone else like this, or he didn't really care about it. Why else had he left in the morning while he, Spencer, had still been asleep, without leaving any message? Wasn't this a sure sign that he didn't want any more contact? He couldn't be entirely sure of this, there was always the possibility that there was another reason for Charlie's leaving. But this, love, or one night stands, or whatever it had been, was an entirely unknown field to him and he didn't know the odds for his friend's behaviour at all. All he knew was that only 2% of one night stands ended with the participants having a relationship afterwards. _Le Monde, 04/09/98; page 47, an article called 'L'aventure d'un soir'_. Not very promising...

He walked slowly towards the entrance of the BAU headquarters. The shockingly cool air outside was somehow soothing. He realised he had forgotten to bring a jacket with him in the morning, now he was freezing in his sweater. Spencer didn't really care, the physical discomfort distracted him from the pain in his heart. He walked to the bus station and patiently waited. The air he breathed out formed little clouds in front of his face. As he waited he tried to divert himself with thinking about exactly why string theory was not plausible. It wasn't very entertaining since he knew the answers and couldn't find any new ones. When the bus finally came he was still busy finding an alternative to string theory, something that did successfully link quantum and relativity theory. He was not disappointed to arrive at home without having found a solution. Apparently it was not the time for a shift in his paradigms right now.

Spencer cooked himself pasta with tomato sauce and ate his dinner while reading an article on new insights about gardening in medieval England. The headache was still there, though, and he felt that reading wasn't the best occupation for him right now. He took an aspirin and decided to call it a day and try to sleep.

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><p>Two hours later the physical pain had faded away but he still lay wide awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering whether the heartache would ever go away. It had on previous occasions but none of these occasions had included someone he cared for <em>that<em> much. Only thirty seven minutes of talking to Charlie Eppes had been enough for him to realise he'd found a soulmate. But it seemed that the latter did not feel the same way and Spencer was profoundly convinced that he'd never felt such a grade of misery before because of this.

Yet he couldn't help recalling the events of their one and only evening together. How Charlie's mouth had tasted of chocolate chip muffins and caffè latte with an extra shot of espresso at their first kiss. How shyly Charlie had smiled at him afterwards. How they had spent the remaining time till dinner aimlessly walking through Los Angeles, talking about Star Trek while occasionally exchanging bashful glances. Had Charlie really not at one single moment felt that there were sparks flying between them? But oh, the way he had flirted with him during dinner! And god, on their way back to the hotel he'd suddenly dragged him into a dark alley and had started kissing him again. He'd tasted of chips and sweet wine and manliness, and Spencer had loved the whole situation. The abruptness, the secretiveness, the determination of Charlie's tongue, the hard, rugged and dirty wall he felt behind his head and back, the warmth of the other man's chest against his, and the wildness of his hands all over his body.

Even the thought of it all turned him on now, though it also thrusted the arrows of pain deeper into his heart. He decided to try and recall every detail of the evening and then decide whether there had been any sign of Charlie loving him. And if he found only one he'd call him the next day. After figuring out his number, obviously...

He remembered vividly how he'd whispered in Charlie's ear that he wanted them to go to his hotel room, and he had felt the other man breathe heavy into his own ear, hot lips caressing his skin, as he had answered, "Yeah, we really should discuss that quantum link theory in private..."

He had taken Charlie by the shoulders and turned him around, so that he had now been the one pressing the other against the brick wall, and had looked him directly into his brown eyes, their faces only inches apart. "Actually I had something else on my mind." He had fiercely kissed his lover and their noses had brushed against each other before he had explained, "I thought about conducting some experiments."

Charlie had leaned forward for another kiss, and as Spencer had wanted to draw back he had gently bit him in the lower lip. He had whined into their kiss, and they had become entangled into a battle for dominance, staggering deeper into the dark alley. Finally, he had Charlie pinned against the cold wall again, and had felt surprised to feel the other's hand wander down his back and firmly grip his bottom.

"Chemistry experiments?", Charlie had asked.

Spencer had shook his head. "No, the chemicals between us seem to be all right." Charlie had smiled coyly at this. "I was thinking about biology."

While the other man had nibbled on his earlobe he had answered, "Let's go then, and carry out your experiments, doctor!"

They had eventually managed to tear themselves away from their embrace and started walking again, silently this time, the promise of sex lingering in the air. Spencer had only let go of Charlie's hand as they had arrived in the vicinity of the hotel. He hadn't been quite sure whether he wanted any of his colleagues to see him like this.

The moment the door to his room had clicked shut he had been all over Charlie again, kissing him with a force that spoke of his burning ardour, ripping open his shirt, pushing him towards the bed and on his back. His cheek had gently touched the other man's chest, and his lips had wandered from one nipple to the other. For a while Charlie had laid still, enjoying the caressing, but soon it hadn't been enough for him, he had started to tear at Spencer's shirt, trying to get it off him. Spencer's lips had continued kissing the other's chest, but they had moved upwards, towards the delicate skin of the throat. This was when Charlie had managed to wrench the shirt open with force and he had pushed it back, revealing Spencer's shoulders. Since this had impeded his movements he had sat up, straddling on the other man, and taken it off completely, slowly, enjoying the hungry eyes that had taken in the view of his torso. Charlie had already fingered with the latch on Spencer's belt as he put his hands on either side of the young man's head and hovered above him. He remembered the brown eyes that had been fixed on his crotch before and then they had looked up and squarely into his own eyes. He had swallowed. Charlie had used the moment to push him on his back and roll on him, his bodyweight pressing him against the sheets, kissing him passionately. The young man had propped himself up on his elbows to be able to get into a more comfortable position, but his whole body had still laid on Spencer, making him unable to move. Not that he had wanted to move. He had wanted to lie there forever, feeling Charlie's tongue in his mouth moving fervently, those beard stubbles grating his chin a little, that heavy and hot body pressing him down, those hands stroking his hair, together with the almost unbearable anticipation that had been wavering around them...

And now he wanted to be there again... How he cursed his photographic memory that made him relive all these heavenly and bittersweet details so exactly! He bit his lip as he started touching himself, picturing Charlie lying on him, just as he had that night.

He remembered how he had again fingered with his belt with one hand, still kissing him, still lying on him, and this time managing to open it. He quickly had unbuttoned and unzipped Spencer's jeans, then he had put his hand down his pants, stroking his buttock. Spencer had moaned into their kiss and had gripped Charlie firmly by the neck to push him down harder. The young man lying on him had had no difficulty removing his jeans but he had had to draw back from their kiss and sit up to take them off completely, and all the while he had been placing little kisses on Spencer's slender legs. Stripping off his lover's underwear had proved to be more complicated due to the obvious problem of the erection but Charlie had eventually coped.

Spencer had expected his lover to lay down so that he could start undressing the other man but Charlie had been faster, already pulling down his own trousers and laying on the other man again.

"Have you done this before?", Charlie had asked breathing heavily.

Spencer had shaken his head.

"We'll need lube."

He had gotten up and had rummaged in his luggage till he found what they needed.

"What position?", he had heard his lover mumble as they were laying together on the bed again, side by side, lips meeting for one eager kiss after another.

He hadn't really known what the positions were called. "I want to look at you."

Their lips collided again as Charlie's hand had gently slid down Spencer's side. Carefully he had stroked his entrance and he remembered how he had winced a little at the unusual and unexpected touch.

"You are gorgeous!", Charlie had whispered. He had felt his knees go weak and his body had relaxed a little. His lover's hand, _there_, felt quite nice actually. Cautiously Charlie had applied the lube and then he'd entered with one finger, slowly, carefully moving it, whispering sweet words to reassure and soothe the other. Spencer had started to moan, and Charlie had asked with a very serious expression, "Does it hurt?"

He'd shaken his head. It had been exciting and delightful. "Don't stop!"

"Shall we try then?"

Spencer nodded curtly and whined in disappointment as Charlie's finger retreated. But just a few seconds later he'd felt pushed back onto the bed, Charlie's hands pressing his legs apart, and his arousal had rubbed against the other's. He had jerked back his head and had heard the other man whimper with desire. And then Charlie had been inside him, pulling out and pushing in again very gently but Spencer had seen that he had trouble restraining himself.

"Is it still alright?", the man hovering above him had panted.

"God, yes!"

Charlie had started to move his hips a little quicker and soon they had found a steady pace, making the bedstead squeak. Both men were breathing hard and panting loudly, occasionally moaning and sighing as well, and calling out each other's names. What if his team members heard them, Spencer had thought, but not had he just not cared, he had also felt rather aroused by the thought. He had matched the movements of his hips with Charlie's thrusts.

And suddenly he had felt the passion and lust bolt through his body even more ardent. "Oh, yes, Charlie, don't stop!", he had yelled, just before an intense wave of desire had surged through him and he had spilled his semen onto both of their stomachs.

Charlie had only needed a fraction of a second longer to hit the peak, mouth and eyes wide open, calling out "I've got it!" After he had come he slowly pulled out of Spencer, then he collapsed on the bed next to him, still breathing heavily. "Geometry!", he had gasped.

"What?" He felt a sudden wave of fatigue roll through his body.

"Geometry!... If we... try to solve... the problem... by using geometry... we can... picture it... better..."

He had looked at the other man. "Oh... You want... to convert... the Heiser... Equation into... isosceles triangles?"

Charlie had nodded, brushing a sweaty curl out of his face. "And... we can use... Pythagoras... for the... nonlinear... cross-equations!"

"Wouldn't... vector algebra... work better... and make sure... you elude... getting stuck... with quantum... energy?"

The last thing he remembered before he had fallen asleep was how Charlie had turned to face him, his chest still heaving, but his eyes locking with Spencer's in awe. "That's... brilliant!"

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><p>He still didn't know what time it had been when he had awoken again. It must have been night still, because the light had been on. He had seen how Charlie had sat on the floor, wearing his boxers, and scribbling wildly away on a notepad.<p>

"Hey, what are you doing there?", he had mumbled, supporting himself on his left elbow.

Charlie had looked up from his work, beaming. "I just figured out a Flecknoe Formula with light velocity!"

Suddenly Spencer felt wide awake. "Really?"

"Yeah, look!", he had gotten up, had gathered his notes and had laid next to Spencer. "I did what you suggested with the vector algebra and figured out that the measure we need is subadditive. Then I thought that if I use polyhedral forms instead of non-polyhedral ones I might manage to calculate the capacity of that hyperbolic function here..."

"Oh I see, and then you used binomial equations... and arranged a diffeomorphism... wow!" Spencer had felt fascinated. This was incredible!

"And look, it belongs to the orthogonal group!" He had heard Charlie's excitement in his voice. His own heartbeat had accelerated.

"Of course! Which means you could apply the cosine rule!" Spencer had gaped at the notes. He remembered how he had been utterly baffled and how his breath had quickened as well. "And then you multiplied the result with the Sigma-finite measure you figured out before and..." He just hadn't been able to get his head round the fact that someone had actually calculated all this. "Charlie, you made it!", he had added with reverence.

"Yes..." His lover had sounded like he couldn't even believe himself what he had done.

They had both looked up at the same time, realising only then that they had been lying very close to each other, their faces only an inch or less apart. As engrossed as he had been in the rearranged Flecknoe Formula, instantly he had been distracted by Charlie's closeness, and that beautiful half open, astonished mouth. As his eyes had flickered back to the other man's he saw that his attention had been equally diverted. Immediately he had leant forward to meet his lover's lips for a hard kiss and they had begun to snog passionately. Soon afterwards they had been making love again.

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><p>Later Spencer lay in bed, exhausted and crying. Somewhere while reliving all the events in LA he'd forgotten that he had wanted to look for signs that showed that Charlie was in love. All he felt now was the pain of finding himself alone in the morning. Everything had been gone, Charlie, his clothes, and the seventy four sheets containing his notes, drawings and equations. In the bin he'd found crumpled-up papers with some attempts to work out the relation of Pi and an isosceles triangle. That, and the handkerchiefs on the bedside cabinet had been all the evidence of last night. Confused and refusing to believe that his lover had really left without leaving any notice, he'd waited for Charlie till Hotch had called and asked where the hell he was because the team wanted to leave. Now the unsuccessful notes on Pi he'd smoothed and pocketed were all the proof he had that the night in LA hadn't been just a blissful dream.<p>

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><p>Spencer's alarm roused him from his sleep and his hand clumsily found the stop button. He got up and still felt tired out. After a shower and a cup of strong tea he felt a bit more able to face going to work. As he stood in the metro reading the newspaper he realised he'd forgotten his jacket again.<p>

He tried to engross himself in his work but unfortunately it didn't require much effort. He'd decided to finish the Henry Guess-file in the evening, after he'd done everything else, so it didn't slow him down for the rest of the day.

A few hours later had completed everything necessary except the report from their last Los Angeles-case. He was looking at his screen again but not taking in the writing on it, and wondered whether he should just try and find Charlie's number. It wouldn't be too difficult, the office number of Agent Don Eppes was still saved on his mobile phone and he'd surely know his own brother's telephone number. He glanced at the clock on his computer. LA was three hours behind, Don must still be at work. But what if Charlie had told him everything? Or was notorious for doing these kind of things? Perhaps this was his method to solving math problems? Or Don might be doing something really important and be rather annoyed about his seemingly nonrelevant call. This might turn into a rather embarrassing conversation...

He had another idea and opened the internet connection. Quickly he found the website of CalSci University and Charlie's official contact details. He didn't have to take a note of the number, he'd already memorised it. He took his phone out of his pocket and looked at it. _To call or not to call: That is the question!_, he thought, at the same time feeling a bit ashamed of himself for misusing the bard's quotation.

He gathered all his courage, quickly dialled the number, pressed the 'call' button and held the mobile phone to his ear. His heart was beating fast. With every signal ringing out his breath quickened. _God, what am I going to say if he actually takes off the phone?_ He hadn't wasted a thought on this before. Shouldn't he go somewhere more private? This might _also_ turn into an embarrassing conversation...

He flinched when someone took off the phone. "Hello, Secretariat of Professor Eppes, Petersen here, how can I help you?", a lady's friendly voice said.

Spencer gulped. He hadn't expected someone else. "Um... hello Ms Petersen, here's Dr. Reid, I'm calling from Quantico. I... um... I wondered whether I could talk to Professor Eppes."

"The professor isn't here now, I'm afraid. However, I can leave him a note if you like. Why did want to speak to him?"

"It's about his work on the quantum displacement link theory.", he answered like a shot, hoping she was not a clever student who knew that this theory didn't exist. "But perhaps it would be easier if you gave me his personal number."

"I'm afraid I can't just hand out his private contact details to strangers."

He saw how Prentiss steered towards his desk. She whispered, "You've got a visitor!", and pointed into the direction of the entrance hall.

He nodded at her and mouthed, "Thanks!" Aloud he said, "Of course I can understand that but I've been working with him on exactly this problem, he knows me."

"I don't think he ever mentioned you.", the secretary answered.

He sighed and tried to decide whether he wanted that Ms Petersen left a note for Charlie or not. He might appear desperate but maybe it was worth it? If Charlie had left for some important reason or just forgot to leave his number this might be his only chance. He was tempted to say that he worked with the FBI but knew that it was forbidden to use his influence if it wasn't case-related.

"Alright, perhaps you could just ask him to call me as soon as possible." If Charlie didn't call back now it was also a very clear message and he'd avoided an awkward discussion. At least he had tried.

Ms Petersen took his number and he said goodbye and hung up. He just wanted to start concluding that ruddy file he seemingly wasn't able to finish when he remembered what Prentiss had said. Relieved to have an excuse not to work he got up and walked towards the visitor room.

He almost fainted when he opened the door and saw Professor Charles Eppes standing at the window watching a dove that sat on the windowsill, hands tucked into his pockets. He looked up as he heard the door click shut and beamed at him. "Spencer!"

He stood in the room, gaping, and for the first time in his life his brain had stopped working. _So this is how other people feel..._ Then he realised that Charlie being here probably meant that there _was_ another reason for his sudden leaving in LA and started to smile back. "Charlie? Good lord, I thought..." He felt tears of relief in his eyes and couldn't speak.

Charlie scurried forwards and squeezed him tightly. "I'm so sorry!", he whispered into his ear. Spencer felt a three-day beard rub his shoulder. Charlie's hair smelt of fresh air.

After two seconds Charlie stood back a little, but still kept his arms firmly around his waist, and hastily began to explain, "I left to get us coffee and then my brother called me and said I should come straight to the office because he had a problem and when I came back you were gone and then I panicked and when I had calmed down I asked the concierge who said you'd checked out but he didn't want to give me your address and then I asked Don whether he could help me but first he didn't want to because I refused to say why I wanted your number and when I finally persuaded him I was too afraid you'd just hang up and then I decided to come straight here instead but the first flight went Wednesday evening and I wanted to be here earlier so I took the car and drove!"

Charlie looked at him with his brown eyes anxiously searching his face for a reaction. Spencer had to smile at his detailed explanation. "What? You drove all the 2678 miles over the 44 and the 70?"

"Only 2634. I drove through Arkansas. That saves you about an hour."

"I tried to reach you but your secretary said you weren't available. Now I know why, you must have been driving for the last three days! You know you're mad!"

Charlie nodded and smiled. "Yes, but you said mad is good!"

Spencer closed his eyes and drew the other man closer. "It is. I'm happy you came."


	2. Experiments

**He sweeties! A little chapter just so you know I haven't forgotten about this story! =) I really AM working on it constantly but I've got writer's block. **

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><p>As Spencer drew back again he saw through the glass door of the visitor room how JJ left her office clutching a case file and wearing a very determined expression.<p>

"Oh no...", he murmured. "Not now!" Then he made a decision. "Come with me, quick!", he said and started walking out of the room.

"But... what about my suitcase?", Charlie asked in bewilderment.

"Leave it here, we'll be back soon. Nobody's going to take it away.", he answered while he grabbed the other man's arm, dragging him along towards the elevators.

JJ would be talking to Hotch for at least ten minutes, usually it took them even longer to discuss everything. As the doors closed Charlie asked, "Where are you taking me?"

He pressed the topmost button. "To the chemistry labs!"

"Oh, cool! Is there something you want to show me?"

"Charlie, I'll probably be called on a case only minutes from now. I have no idea how long you'll be staying and how long I'll be gone. Therefore, I thought we should conduct some experiments before we're separated again. Oh, and here's my card.", he added and put his contact details into the front pocket of Charlie's jacket. "Now you've got my number."

"What? Experiments? On what? Here? _Now_?"

"You came here, driving three days with hardly any break, just to see me! I don't want this to be for nothing! We should use the time we have."

With a tinkling sound the elevator doors opened and Spencer dragged his confused boyfriend along into a corridor. It seemed empty and the only sound they heard were their steps on the floor and the light flicking on automatically.

"There's a sign saying the labs are in the other direction...", Charlie piped up.

Spencer opened a door and gently pushed the other man into the tiny room. "I know." He stepped in after Charlie and locked the door behind them, then he put his bag into the wash basin on his left hand side. "I didn't come here because of the labs. I came here because almost nobody comes here." He came closer to his friend and put his hands on his shoulders, pushing him further backwards against the wall.

"This is a bathroom, Spencer... What kind of experiment is this?"

Spencer thought that Charlie looked absolutely adorable when he was bewildered. He leaned forward to kiss him eagerly, as if they hadn't seen each other for months. He delightedly whined into their kiss as he tasted Charlie's tongue. How he had missed this!

"Oh!", the other man said with a coy smile as their finally lips separated again. "You were talking about _that_ kind of experiments..." He put his hands on Spencer's neck to push him towards him and tried to turn him around to gain dominance.

"Shh... we don't have time for that!", Spencer whispered as he pinned him against the bathroom wall, this time with more force, kissing him hard again.

Suddenly he felt Charlie's hand on his crotch and he immediately reacted to the touch as spikes of pleasure run through his body. He moaned into their kiss, and impatiently started to fumble with the zipper of his lover's trousers. Only seconds later they fell to the floor, gathering around Charlie's ankles, quickly followed by his underwear. While Spencer's right hand firmly caressed the other man's butt, his left fiddled with the clasp of his bag. Only moments later he felt how Charlie managed to undo his trousers. Finally he succeeded in finding what he had been looking for in his satchel – the lube. He applied it onto him and his lover and eagerly but gently entered with one finger. He saw pure wanton in his lover's eyes and entered a second. Charlie began to pant loudly and Spencer engaged him in an intense kiss, enjoying the sensuous feeling of their bodies so closer together. Almost tenderly he slid into Charlie who moaned in pleasure.

At least he hoped it was pleasure and not pain. "You OK?", he mumbled, only half aware of Charlie's affirmative answer. It was the last sensible thing he managed to say. He moved his hips as quickly as he could, his face buried in the other male's sweaty shoulder, sighs of enjoyment escaping his lips. That, and Charlie's firm arousal against his stomach sent shivers of lust through him, there was only him and his lover in the world, the tiny bathroom melted away as he rocked his hips wildly against that wonderful, hot, intense body so eagerly reacting to his movements. They didn't last long. Barely a minute after Spencer had entered he came, shouting Charlie's name, and feeling the other's semen on his stomach made him come once again.

Panting heavily he pulled out, but for several seconds he wasn't able to move any further. He held on to Charlie, knees weak, heart beating fast and trying to calm down again.

"Come on, darling, I bet the other's are looking for you right now.", the other's voice woke him from the blissful high in which his mind was still swirling.

He felt Charlie's hand on his arm, gently pushing him away. He lifted his head from his lover's shoulder and placed a soft kiss on those inviting lips. "Yeah, I guess I really should be going..."

Their lips met again and only now not one of them cared who was dominant, they just held each other close, tongues dancing, noses brushing tenderly.

* * *

><p>Two minutes later the dashed into the elevator again, having hurriedly wiped off a variety of bodily fluids, dressed and arranged their hair. On their way down an elderly man entered on the third floor and Charlie couldn't avoid going to a most adorable shade of pink. Luckily the stranger had turned his back to them before the blush had been too visible.<p>

As they stepped out of the lift on the first floor they saw Morgan hasting around the bullpen, obviously on the lookout for something or someone. As he saw the two men he hurried towards them, exclaiming, "There you are! Where have you been, I've been looking for you all over the office! There's a new case, you'll need to come to the conference room for the briefing!" Only then did he turn to Charlie, "Oh, hi!"

"Morgan, that's Professor Eppes I told you about. I just showed him the chemistry labs." He saw that Charlie was on the verge of going red again, and quickly added, "And that's my fellow agent SSA Morgan.", pointing at his friend.

The young professor nodded at the beautiful black man but looked rather reserved.

"Sorry, I have to go to work, Charlie. Oh and here's a spare key to my apartment.", Spencer added to his surprise and gave him a single key, "Make yourself at home. Just put it in the letterbox if you're leaving before I'm back, OK?"

"Um.", he mumbled, "Yeah, all right. Thanks!" He hadn't really thought about where he was going to stay overnight. He hadn't really been thinking about anything but Spencer since he had left LA in a hurry. He felt rather insecure as he watched his boyfriend hurriedly follow his fellow agent.


	3. Home Alone

**Sorry, sorry, I haven't uploaded for a while! I'm afraid I'm rather busy right now. Still, here's a little bit more for you who are kind enough to follow this story. I haven't forgotten about it and I won't abandon it, I promise! Completely non-explicit this time... ;)  
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* * *

><p>Charlie put his suitcase and his bag down and looked about. The hallway opened into a small living room that was dominated by a large bookshelf. He saw that hadn't read half of the works on it but he liked the ones he recognised. There was a dark blue carpet on the floor, a comfortable looking couch and a television. On another wall was a shelf containing several of his favourite Sci-Fi-shows. They were all sorted alphabetically, which pleased him.<p>

Then he entered the bedroom, discovering a huge CD collection with all the works of Bach, Mozart, Mahler and Beethoven and some of other famous composers. He put in the _Caprices_ by Paganini and to the sound of Perlman's violin had a closer look at the bookshelf here. It was a little smaller than the one in the living room and contained only blue and white books. He noticed they were not in alphabetical order and frowned. Then he realised that the backs of the blue and white books spelled out _TARDIS_ in binary code.

"**T**ime **A**nd **R**elative** D**imensions **I**n **S**pace!", he said to himself, "How cool is that!"

Then his gaze fell on the book lying on the bedside cabinet. _That's my treatise on H-infinity control of non-linear systems!_, he thought, surprised, _He's read it!_ He couldn't quite explain why this touched him so much. He sat down on the bed and reached out for the book. He opened it to discover pencil notes on some of the pages. Some passages were underlined, one had a big exclamation mark on it's side and in one corner he saw several hearts. It made him chuckle. Still smiling, he put the treatise back where it had been before and got up again. He opened the closet and saw the ninth Doctor grinning at him like a maniac from the inside of one of the doors. All clothes were neatly folded and arranged according to their colours. He closed the doors again, trying very hard not to think too much about his boyfriend working with his handsome colleague he had met today.

He wondered what to do now. He had come here without thinking about how long he was going to stay. He'd asked one of his assistants to take over his courses and lectures at university for two weeks. Then he'd written a note to his brother and his father that he needed some time off, not explaining anything further though, and had departed. Somewhere after Victorville, still in California, Don had called, sounding upset, and Charlie had explained that he needed a break from work and had decided to go on a road trip. His brother knew that usually he didn't do such things but eventually he'd accepted that he wasn't coming back for some time.

He sent a text message to Spencer so that both of them had each other's number and looked through the kitchen cupboards to find something to cook. While he eat dinner he graded an exam his students had had to take online last week.

* * *

><p>After he had washed the dishes Don rang again.<p>

"Charlie, are you alright? I haven't heard of you for days now." He did sound a bit worried.

"Yeah, sure, I'm fine!", he tried to reassure his brother.

"Where are you?"

"I arrived in Quantico this afternoon."

"_What_? You drove to _Virginia_ in less than four days? _To the other side of the effing state_?"

"Yeah, it was a bit exhausting, but now I'm here and staying for a few days."

"Charlie, didn't you say you wanted to go on a road trip? Driving to the east coast in three days isn't a road trip! It's a bloody marathon!"

"I told you, now I'll stay here for a bit."

"Well, whatever you want..." Charlie heard Don sigh. "Why Quantico, by the way?"

"Uh, I wanted to see a friend."

"You know you're mad, right?"

Charlie smiled happily. "I've been told so."

"You already know when you'll be back? I might need your help on a case soon after all. And dad's worried about you, too."

"Don, you've got the equation for calculating comfort zones, it's not that complicated. You don't need me for that anymore!"

"Well, there might be something else to work out. So, do you know when you're back?", his brother repeated.

"I should be home by the end of next week."

Don paused. "Is everything OK?" He sounded concerned. "It's really not like you to disappear like that just to visit a friend. Is this a new form of coping with something, like this 'N versus P'-thing?"

"It's 'P versus NP', and no, I really just needed some time to think, I'm fine."

"And this friend of yours, is he a decent chap? I never knew you knew someone in Virginia. Oh, or is this a lady-friend?"

"No, Don, it's not a girl-"

"Wait, has this something to do with this agent's number you wanted to have before you left?", his brother interrupted, sounding slightly aghast. "His team is based in Virginia! Charlie, you _can't_ be serious, you only just met that guy!"

"Don, stop worrying about me! It's all OK. He works for the FBI, after all!"

"Well, still..."

"I'm a grown man, I can look after myself!"

"Yes, sorry... It's just... you're my little brother and you're acting weirdly. You drive across the whole continent just to meet someone you just met, that's so not you! I'm bound to worry about you!" Don sounded like he meant it.

He smiled fondly at that. "Well, thanks, I do appreciate that, but it's all going well, really. It might seem all weird to you but I'm all right!"

"Right... well then, see you when you're back!"

He hung up and sighed. He'd wanted to tell his brother the truth but somehow this proved to be more difficult than he had thought.


	4. Middle High German

**So darlings, here comes a new update! I have been busy lately but mainly with travelling and watching Horrible Histories, so it was all good fun.  
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**Well, anyway, thank you all for your kind response to the story so far! I seriously love you for that!**

**PS. I did realise I write in British English even though CM and N3 are American series, hope you don't mind about that. I never really thought about this so far and I think it would be weird if I changed it in the middle of the story so I'll just leave it how it is now. **_  
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><p>As the closing credits of an episode of <em>Star Wars: The Clone Wars<em> appeared on the screen Charlie's phone rang again.

"Spencer?"

"Charlie, I miss you!"

He laughed. "Miss you too, how was your day?"

"Oh, we had a serial killer who beheaded his victims and I had to go to the morgue, um, then I focused on the geographical profile. I'm afraid I can't give you any more details, all top secret and stuff."

"Beheaded? Ugh! I don't even want more details..."

"Did you find everything you need?"

"Yup, everything is alright here. Love your bookshelf in the bedroom by the way!"

He heard the other man chuckle. "Thought you might figure it out."

"And I see you've updated your knowledge on H-infinity control of non-linear systems!", he had to smile a little proudly at that.

"Yeah", Spencer sounded enthusiastic, "I just love how you managed to use the Fender Algorithm on primes in general, I'd never thought of that! And your comparison of Moffat's Modified Gravity with the grammar of Middle High German on page 157 is just mind blowing!"

Charlie was still grinning. "Thanks."

"Although you did use an older translation of _Erec_ which is highly controversial if you believe the experts, and I think they're right, because Jeremy Barks doesn't consider the Northwestgermanic Arsis and he completely ignores the New German Monophthongization, which makes the translation- uh..." Spencer seemed to hesitate.

"Everything OK?"

"Yeah..."

"You were explaining the errors of Barks' translation."

"I know. It's just... You didn't interrupt me!"

Charlie was slightly confused by that statement. "Why should I interrupt you?"

"That's what people always do when I start explaining things to them."

"But it's interesting!"

"I know! Well, anyway, the flawed translation doesn't infect your theory, so it's not really important-"

"Actually, I find it kinda sexy, too!", Charlie interrupted.

"Wh...?" There was a pause and he had to bite his lip in order not to laugh. "Sexy?"

He couldn't suppress a chuckle. "Yes."

"Oh." There was another pause. "I could tell you talk to you about Middle High German metrics if you like."

"Sounds hot!", he answered with a voice he hoped sounded sultry.

"Uh... Really? Oh, wait, sorry, someone's at the door." He heard his lover's voice sounding like it was far away. "Hi, Rossi." The response was inaudible. "Ah, no sorry, I think I'd rather stay here, this phone call is rather important." Charlie smiled. Of course it was! "Actually, it's a good friend.", he heard Spencer say sounding rather amused. "Someone who _likes_ listening to me and understands what I talk about." The answer to that was muffled again. "Yeah, see you tomorrow!" Then his voice was clear and loud again, "Can you believe it, they asked me to play chess with them although they know I always win!"

"Oh, _we_ should play chess one day! Should be an interesting match!"

He heard Spencer chuckle. "We definitely must do that soon!"

"So, you wanted to tell me something about metrics?"

* * *

><p>"He's not coming, looks like I'll have to wait till the first round is over.", David Rossi said as he entered his room. JJ and Morgan who sat at his table, a chessboard between them, looked up in surprise.<p>

"What, _Reid_ doesn't want to play chess?", Morgan asked.

Rossi shrugged. "He's busy, it appears he's talking to a good friend on the phone."

Morgan laughed. "A good friend? He doesn't have good friends." As JJ cast him an indignant glance he hurriedly added, "Apart from us, I mean."

"What do I know, it's what he said." Rossi sat down on a third chair and watched the two agents play.

"It could be he met a girl, you know, and is calling her.", JJ piped up.

David shook his head, apparently not interested in finding out who that friend was. "Who knows... He said it's someone who understands what he says, though."

"Oh, I bet it's that professor from California!", Morgan answered and put his knight on H7.

"No, watch your bishop!", Rossi exclaimed, but already JJ had taken her queen to remove Derek's bishop.

"Bugger!", Morgan said.

"What professor are you talking about?", JJ asked with a curious glance.

"Apparently he met him in LA and they talked about quantum physics or something. Reid's introduced me just this afternoon."

"Oh, he's in Quantico then?", David asked, now becoming interested as well.

"Yup. He looked pretty young for a professor though. And...", he frowned, "he's staying at Reid's flat." He moved a castle.

JJ shrugged. "Well, that's what friends do."

Morgan was staring at the chessboard without taking in what he saw. "Yeah...", he replied, lost in thought, "It's still odd, though. They just met and now he's here and sleeping at Reid's place. Surely he could have afforded a hotel?"

The blonde who sat face-to-face to him giggled as she moved forward one of her pawns. "Oh, I see! Suddenly there's someone threatening your status as his friend... are we jealous? Have I profiled you correctly?"

Morgan shook his head vigorously. "I'm not jealous of some geek just because he knows what E=mc2 actually means!"

Both JJ and Rossi began to laugh and he had to grin as well. Perhaps JJ had been a teensy little bit right. He was not stupid but he didn't understand half of what Reid liked to talk about and that there was someone who actually did abated his pride a little bit. Plus, Reid had just met this professor, who knew what kind of guy he was? They had once met a professor who had taken a pleasure in torturing and killing people. Wasn't it normal to be worried? With a little smile he let one of his knights remove JJ's pawn. She, however, took her queen to beat his newly placed knight and said, "Checkmate!"

Morgan frowned at the chessboard. "Shit, I didn't see that coming!"

Rossi patted his shoulder. "You've got to concentrate more! Let me help you in the next round, together we can beat JJ!"

"No thanks, I'm actually rather tired.", he replied and got up, "I'll go get some sleep." He said goodbye to them and left.

In the corridor he passed Reid's room and heard his voice muted through the door. _So he must still be on the phone_, he thought. Curiously Morgan stepped closer to the door and held his ear against the cool wood.

"...to achieve this they usually employed an apocope or a syncope, although using a crasis was also rather common... That's when two words are merged completely into one and lose all their independent meanings...", he heard. He didn't know what Reid was talking about. To him it sounded like complete gibberish. "Actually, the cadences of the chansons de geste written around 1200 are also very interesting because there are four different possibilities-"

Morgan stopped listening because he had heard enough to realise he wouldn't understand a single sentence. At least, he decided, it wasn't him who had to listen to all this. As soon as he entered his own room though he took his mobile phone and called Garcia.

"To what do I owe the enchanting pleasure of you calling me at this ungodly hour, you most handsome friend of mine?", she answered her phone, her cheerfulness making him smile as always.

"Could you check someone out for me, baby-girl?"

"Sure, is this for the case?"

"No, it's private. I'm curious about this new friend of Reid's..."

* * *

><p>It was quite early in the morning when Garcia's phone rang the next time. The current case had just been solved and the agents had been sent home to a well-deserved weekend. Penelope was just about to leave her office as she heard the familiar ringing sound.<p>

"Well, well, well, if this isn't my favourite profiler on the phone!"

"Hi Garcia!", Morgan answered with a smile.

"Isn't this intimidating? I thought of calling you and then- _you_ call _me_!"

"It's absolutely scary, baby-girl! Listen, me and Rossi are going to the theatres this night to watch the latest Tom Cruise film, wanna join us?"

"Sorry... Is this a serious question? Of course I do! But right now there are more pressing things we need to discuss."

"There are?"

"Have you already forgotten that you put me on the trail of one Charles Eppes?"

"Oh, yeah. I haven't forgotten but I thought you might need some more time. After all we just finished our case-"

"I am disappointed you thought such a thing! Do I not _always_ work as fast as I can? But honestly, it wasn't difficult to get information about him because he's worked with the FBI in LA and they have a file about him."

"They do?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid the cases he worked on are classified. I would be able to hack them, obviously, but if I get caught I might get into serious trouble and I don't want to lose my job so there you go, that information stays classified."

"No prob, don't want you to go to jail because of me, baby-girl!"

"_Very_ good... Well, as for the rest, he's a bit like Reid."

"Like Reid? In what way?"

"He was a child prodigy, went to Princeton when he was thirteen, one year later he published an apparently acclaimed treatise on... on complicated maths stuff... uh, I don't even understand the title of it so please don't ask me anything about that. He has several PhDs, won the Milton Prize and is currently working at CalSci University in LA as a math professor. He's Jewish, has got one brother Donald who works for the FBI, hence probably his involvement in some cases, and lives in LA, sending you the address. Mother died one year ago of cancer, father lives with him, no known wife or girlfriend. Need anything more?"

"Um, no thanks, that was actually quite enlightening. You think he's OK then? No suspicious behaviour?"

"I doubt it. He seems nice enough. There are no known arrests as well. Though they might have been deleted due to his helping the FBI."

"Yeah, might be. Thanks for your work, baby-girl!"

"Anything for you, my Chocolate Adonis! See you tomorrow night at the _Odeon_!"

Morgan put down his phone and thought about what Garcia had just told him. He was relieved to find Spencer's new friend was 'nice enough' and he sounded so much like him that he could understand well why they had become friends so fast. But still... it seemed _way_ too fast for him. And why was the mysterious professor here now? Didn't he have lectures to read on the _other_ side of the continent?

* * *

><p>While Morgan had talked to Penelope Spencer had arrived at home. He had texted Charlie to tell him he was coming home but when he entered his apartment he didn't hear him respond to his greeting. He put down his bag and suitcase on the couch and went into the kitchen and the bedroom to look for his boyfriend. He saw that Charlie's things were still here and sighed with relief. For a moment he had thought that he had gone. Again. He sat down on the unmade bed, tired from the long, exhausting work and began to untie his shoelaces, getting ready for some much needed sleep.<p> 


	5. Pancakes

**Hi darlings! How are you doing? I proudly present: Another Chapterrrr! Sorry for the delay, I discovered the Horrible Histories roleplay on Twitter... and I'm _completely_ addicted. Anyone else on FFN doing it?  
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**Thank you so much for the many favourites I got in the meantime! You rock my world, together with The Clash! **

**I hope the beginning isn't too cheesy.. =D**

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><p>He let the hot water wash away the remnants of his fatigue. He wondered what to do today. He didn't want to leave the house in case his boyfriend suddenly came home. He might look into that 'impossible' abbreviation of the Ternheim Equation. Laughable, he should be able to find one in no time- He flinched and turned when he saw a movement from the corner of his eye. Completely surprised he saw Spencer who had moved the shower curtain and was climbing into the shower.<p>

"You're home?"

"Yeah, hi!", his lover answered, thinking that Charlie _really_ looked absolutely cute when he was bewildered, and stepped forward into the jet of water to hold him close.

"Hi...", Charlie mumbled into Spencer's throat, putting his arms around him and enjoying the presence of his beloved he had longed for so much. "I missed you!", he added, not being able to resist smiling happily.

"I missed you, too! So much!", his lover replied into his ear and Charlie heard from his voice that he meant it. He felt his lover's heart beat just as fast as his against his chest.

He closed his eyes and breathed in that smell he had missed so much. He was sure that he'd never felt quite so euphoric in someone's presence. He had never been that obsessed with someone or something before. Numbers were wonderful but this was even better! He wished he could just stand here forever, in the arms of his lover, feeling his skin and enjoying their very own little bubble of heaven until the end of time. He looked up and wanted to put into words just how wonderful he felt but he didn't find them. Every phrase he could think of felt out of place and shallow. After a few seconds of thinking he said, "I love you!" but he still didn't find these words enough to express all that he wanted them to.

But when Spencer whispered, "I love you, too, honey!" their eyes met and Charlie saw that he understood. All that he had wanted to tell him was reflected in those brown, tired eyes looking at him and knew there was no need for words anymore.

"Come on, let's get you to bed!", he smiled.

"Uh, actually I'm really tired, Charlie. I've been awake for the last twenty hours and only got very little sleep on the jet-"

"And that's why you need to go to the bed!", he interrupted and turned the shower off.

"Oh... Yeah...", Spencer wearily blinked at his boyfriend who reached for a towel. "Sorry, I thought you-"

Charlie turned towards him and silenced him with a kiss. "Our experiments can wait till you're in better shape." He draped the towel around Spencer's shoulders and stepped out of the shower to get one for himself.

While Spencer was getting ready to sleep Charlie dressed but when he saw his beloved climb into bed he joined him and held him close till he was sure his boyfriend was asleep. Only then did he get up to make himself breakfast. After brushing his teeth he sat on the bed and busied himself with the Ternheim Equation. Around noon he had already found that supposedly unfeasible abbreviation.

Just as he was drafting some notes to write a short paper on it he heard Spencer stir and looked down on him, smiling fondly. "Morning!", he said quietly.

"Morning!", his boyfriend replied dozily and covered his mouth with one hand as he yawned.

Charlie shoved aside his notepad and bended forward for a good-morning-kiss that became a veritable smooch which lasted at least two minutes since Spencer refused to let go of him once he had his arms tightly around his shoulders and he didn't really mind anyway.

When Charlie finally managed to find the will to recede a little he whispered, "You stay here, I'll make you brunch. What do you want to eat? Scrambled eggs? Pancakes?"

"Would you _honestly_ make pancakes for me?", he felt his lover's hot breath against his lips.

"Sure!"

"Is this heaven?"

Charlie pretended to think about this. "Looks like it. I'm sure I am in heaven, so you must be too since you're with me.", he nodded very earnestly. He put a last kiss on these inviting lips that smiled so enchantingly at him before he got up and went into the kitchen to prepare the pancakes.

Soon both men were sitting in bed happily eating pancakes, surrounded by plates, orange juice and maple syrup on a serving tray. Whenever Spencer had a crumb or a drop of syrup in the corner of his mouth Charlie took this as an excuse to kiss it away which almost always ended in both of them making out for a while before they went back to their late breakfast.

Just now Charlie said again, "Oh, there's some more syrup on your lips!", and leant forward in anticipation.

"Not again!", Spencer laughed and backed away, "I bet it's imaginary syrup!"

"It is not!", Charlie replied with a determined expression, eyes fixed on the other's lovely lips.

"The odds for someone to have so much syrup on their lips as you said I had during this meal must be really very low! I'd hazard a guess at one to 329 against."

"Well, then you're the exception!", he pouted, "You should not eat like a little child! Well, actually I think you should eat even _more_ like a little child." He playfully dived in for another kissing attack which made his boyfriend flinch in surprise.

"Oi, look what you did! Now I've got crumbs on my pyjama!", Spencer exclaimed, backing away even more.

Charlie finally took his eyes from his lover's lips and looked at the crumbs. Then he plunged for them. Spencer started laughing again as his boyfriend really kissed the crumbs from the silk, but as the other pushed the fabric up to continue his caress on his navel he began to hum in pleasure. As Charlie slid out his tongue he felt the other's gentle hand in his hair and heard him say, "I guess that means you had enough to eat..."

He whispered, "Yes.", and went straight back to tenderly kissing and licking his lover's navel.

Only when Spencer sighed, "Come on, let's get more comfortable then.", he stopped and sat up again. They put the salver on the floor and soon they tumbled back on the bed again, kissing, giggling and holding each other close, all the time fighting for dominance.

Charlie was clumsily unbuttoning the other's pyjama shirt while Spencer fought with the zipper of his lover's jeans. Feeling his boyfriend's hand brush against his crotch was getting him hard which made the task even more difficult for Spencer.

"Why did you get dressed anyway?", his lover asked panting between two ardent kisses as Charlie managed to wrench open his silken shirt. One of his hands was trying to get Spencer who was lying on him out of the garment while the other was gently fondling his nipples.

"To make the foreplay last longer...", he grumbled back, "Let go of me so I can get you out of this shirt!"

Spencer obediently sat up and let Charlie undress him. Then he took his lover's shirt by the rim and pulled it over Charlie's head in one move. While he nibbled at the other's chin he still fumbled with his boyfriend's jeans, finally achieved opening them. Eagerly he pushed Charlie back on the bed and slid his hands into his boxers, savouring the hot skin he felt, and shoved both the trousers and the underwear down, getting his beloved completely undressed.

Charlie hissed in pleasure as he felt Spencer's hand slowly stroking his arousal as they started to kiss again. Impatiently he tore at the hemline of his lover's pants, irritated by the fabric separating them. Soon Spencer's boxers landed somewhere on the floor. Charlie couldn't help noticing them describing a polygonal arch as they did so and to estimate their rate of climb but only a fraction of a second later his attention was diverted by his boyfriend reaching for the lube.

"Not so fast!", he murmured and gripped Spencer's erection firmly which made the man on him wince with desire. He used the distraction to push the other on his back and quickly rolled onto him. "My turn now!", he smiled coyly.

"Not. Fair.", Spencer breathed as the other man stroked him tantalisingly slowly.

Charlie didn't answer, he just kissed the already swollen lips again, his tongue sliding between them to find his lover's tongue expecting him. He took the tube of lube from the mattress where it had fallen when he had surprised Spencer. He let go of his lover's arousal to apply some of the lube to his finger and began to stroke the other's entrance. When Spencer whined into their kiss he tenderly pushed one finger into him, moving it slowly in and out. As his lips let go of the other man's mouth he heard him moan in lust and decided to add a second finger. His boyfriend's darkened eyes widened and his moaning grew louder. Finally Charlie added a third finger and soon after he pulled his hand out to be able to slide his erection into his boyfriend who was breathing hard with longing while he himself let out a sigh of pleasure. They rocked their hips in a quick, steady rhythm, and the thought that it was he who made Spencer groan and whimper in satisfaction turned Charlie on like nothing had ever before. He reached for his lover's arousal and stroked it again, making Spencer utter the most erotic sounds he'd ever heard. He quickened the pace of his thrusts, all his yearning concentrating in his groin. After a few minutes of pounding feverishly they both rolled back their heads as they hit the peak simultaneously, exclaiming each other's names, riding the waves of their orgasms.

Later they were still laying in bed, cuddling, and Charlie explained in detail how he had found his abbreviation, showing Spencer the notes he had taken this morning. Shortly before two o'clock in the afternoon they were interrupted by Reid's phone ringing. With a little disappointed moan he reached out for it. Seeing that it was Morgan he decided he had to take it off. It was unusual to get another case so soon but one never knew.

"Hey!"

"Hi, sorry, did I wake you up?", Morgan's voice sounded in his ear.

"Uh, yes.", he lied since this was the best explanation he could think of as to why he was still in bed, "But never mind, I think I did get enough sleep."

"Oh good. Listen, me, Garcia and Rossi are going to the cinema tonight to watch _Mission_ _Impossible 87_. Wanna come with us?"

"Uh, no, sorry, I'm busy tonight."

"Oh right... Is that friend of yours still with you? You could bring him if you like."

"I don't think this is his thing. And I'm afraid we have other plans for tonight."

"Oh. Oh, OK. Well, then I'll see you on Monday at work."

"Yeah, see you!"

As he put his phone back on the bedside cabinet Charlie asked, "We have plans for tonight?"

Spencer looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Well... how about some more experiments?"

"Oh come on!", Charlie exclaimed, "Is that the only think you can think of?" Then he leaned closer, whispering with a charming smile, "I know something we can do before we conduct some more experiments!"

"Has it at least to do with experiments?"

Charlie pretended to scowl. "No! We'll have to leave the house for it!"

Now Spencer pretended to pout. "Hm! Not for long, I hope! We don't have much time left together. What do you want to do?"

Charlie couldn't help beaming at him. "I wanna go dancing!"


	6. Revelations

**Oooh, I have been neglecting you and my two baby-boys, haven't I? I am VERY sorry for that! Thank you all for faving and all the fun stuff! 3  
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><p>The weekend flew by in a blur of sex, chatting about transposed matrices and the Bohr magneton, occasional cooking, more sex, and clubbing since they indeed went out both Saturday and Sunday night.<p>

When Spencer had to do go to work on Monday again he was as exhausted as he had never been before due to the unusual amount of athletic activities and the lack of sleep. Morgan cast him several curious glances during the day but Spencer tried to avoid a conversation since he didn't feel like talking about the weekend.

On Tuesday he was fifteen minutes late because Charlie had insisted on a quickie in the shower. He hurried into the office, going slightly red as Hotch eyed him with an ambiguous look as he crossed the bullpen and sighing with relief when he saw that Morgan's desk was empty since he had gone to get himself his first coffee. Luckily his boss didn't ask any questions as he brought him some files to look through, but still, he gazed at him with what seemed curiosity. Did he suspect him of taking drugs again?

On Wednesday he just managed to be on time but he saw Penelope winking at him once and asked himself why she would do that but he didn't want to ask since it might lead to embarrassing questions coming from her. Hopefully she didn't suspect him. What if Morgan had told her about Charlie visiting him and she had drawn the right conclusions? But all he really cared about was that soon he'd be home again with his boyfriend. Should the others tattle as much as they wanted.

* * *

><p>By Wednesday Morgan had still not managed to talk to Reid for one minute in private. Apparently his mysterious friend was still staying at his place, that was all he had managed to find out. Even the other team members had observed Reid's inattentiveness and quiet cheerfulness and Garcia had suspected him of having a girlfriend. As Morgan walked into the office in the morning he saw that Prentiss was already here but not his best friend. Had he overslept? <em>Again<em>? Reid never overslept and certainly not twice in one week!

"Reid late again?", he asked casually as he sat down and put his coffee on his desk.

"Mhm.", Prentiss mumbled before she looked up and greeted him with a smile, "He _has_ been rather absent-minded in the last few days, hasn't he? Is something the matter with him?"

He shook his head. "Not that I know of. But he's got that friend staying at his place and since then he's late often and distracted at work..."

"Oh, you think Garcia is right and he's in love? I thought so, too."

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "No, his friend's a guy. And if it was someone else he'd tell us, wouldn't he?"

"Maybe he's afraid we're gonna make fun of him?"

"But we never did that! Never really..."

"Perhaps he thinks we would if we knew who the person in question is...", Emily looked behind her to see whether someone was listening and then she leaned forward, "Perhaps it _is_ that friend you mentioned!"

Morgan shook his head again. "Prentiss, we know he's not gay. He has been in love with Lila, remember her?"

"Maybe he's just found out!", Emily insisted, face lit up with excitement. As he frowned at her in disbelief she started, "It explains his absent-mindedness and why he does not want us to know about that friend! He's never really told any of us about him-"

"And it would explain why he's spending all his time with him... and why he oversleeps all the time.", Morgan interrupted. His wide eyes were fixed on her big brown ones, his mouth gaping a little in astonishment. He still could not believe any of this.

She stared back and nodded slowly. "Everything just matches!" Then Emily's eyes were becoming concerned. "Promise me you won't make fun of him!"

He raised his hands in defence. "Hey! Easy, girl! I was just surprised. I promise I won't!"

To be honest, he did feel a bit odd about this but he sure wasn't going to tell anyone. However, he somehow found the real reason why his friend kept spending all his time with Charles Eppes reassuring. It meant that he was still his best friend. It was normal to want to spend every possible second with one's beloved. Nothing was unusual about this behaviour anymore. Reid didn't refuse to spend time with Morgan because he didn't like him, he just wanted to be with someone even more important now. The feelings he had for this guy were on a completely different level which meant that the math professor wasn't a threat to their friendship. Morgan inwardly sighed with relief before he started to work.

* * *

><p>Not long afterwards, exactly 2285 ½ miles linear distance from Quantico, a certain FBI agent had a very similar conversation with his colleague.<p>

"Oh, don't be ridiculous! He's not gay!"

"But think about it! People don't do thinks like crossing the whole country in three days for no reason. These are the things you only do for love!", Terry answered.

Don frowned and looked very sternly at his fellow agent. "But it's just _not_ possible. I would have noticed, remember, I'm his brother! He's never brought a man home, that's for sure!"

"Did he ever bring a girl?"

"Uh. Fair enough... but anyway, this agent in Virginia might be a woman, don't you think?"

She shook her head. "He wanted a guy's number, I remember very clearly who it was."

"But they never even met! Charlie was never involved in the investigation!", Don insisted.

Terry shrugged. "He was here in your office once or twice for some calculations when you weren't here. He might very well have met someone from the headquarters."

He sighed. "But still, the possibility that he met one of the female agents is as just as high!"

"I told you, he wanted a man's number!", she repeated. Why did her colleague make such a fuss about this?

Don cursed under his breath. He had remembered that his brother had told him very clearly that he was _not_ visiting a girl. "Okay, so he drove to Virginia to meet a guy. But they could be just friends nonetheless...", he mumbled, not really believing what he said himself because Terry's explanation made so much more sense. You didn't drive across the whole continent for someone you just met if it wasn't someone you loved.

"Why are you against it anyway? There's nothing wrong with liking guys, you know!", she grinned.

"I've got _nothing_ against it!", he claimed. Then he grimaced at her and stared at his desk in front of him. "It's just... why have I never noticed? He never said anything... And I thought he likes Amita."

Terry sighed and said, "Perhaps he tried to hide it from you deliberately."

He shook his head, still studying the material his office table was made of. "Why?"

"Don't you understand? He's afraid! It's likely you never spoke about the subject of homosexuality in your family. He didn't know your opinion about it and might have been afraid you'd turn away from him if you knew."

Confused he looked up at her again. "But...", he appeared to be quite lost. "But he's my brother!"

Terry nodded. "That's why your refusal would hurt even more."

"Oh." Finally, Don understood. "Well, as a child I did tease him a lot about being so clever since I was terribly jealous of him. I'm almost glad I didn't find this out when I was younger, I would have taken advantage of it and laughed at him!" He shook his head, looking sad as he thought of his mean behaviour as a boy. "What am I going to do now? Tell him that I know?"

"I don't know. Perhaps he's going to tell you anyway now he's got someone. Tell your dad first, prepare him."

"Oh gosh...", Don sighed. This was not going to be easy.

* * *

><p>Charlie had never been very interested in opera but as he sat on the couch listening to Monteverdi's <em>Pur Ti Miro<em> while Spencer was holding him tightly and occasionally whispering the translation of the Italian lyrics into his ear he couldn't help but feel deeply touched by the music. It was Thursday and it was their last evening together. Charlie had to leave early in the next morning to make sure he'd make it for his lecture on Monday afternoon. From the moment he had come home his lover had clung to him more than ever, always making sure to be close enough to hold his hand or touch him otherwise, as if to show him physically that he didn't want to let him go.

When the last notes of the aria had faded they sat in silence for a while before Spencer whispered into his ear, "When can we meet again?"

Charlie himself had wanted to ask this question long before and yet he had dreaded to do so as well since the answer might be so incredibly disappointing. He sighed. "Well, I can't visit you next weekend after this one since I've got to prepare for that lecture on Van-der-Waal's constants I'm giving at-" He lifted his head from Spencer's shoulder as something dawned on him and felt his boyfriend's questioning look on him. "At the UVa!", he exclaimed.

"The University of Virginia? But that's in Charlottesville, that's not far from here!", Spencer smiled.

"Yes I know!", he beamed, "Why didn't I think of that before! There's a conference on enthalpy of evaporation there! It starts on Monday the twenty-second."

"I'll ask whether I can get a few days off to go to that conference. Sounds like a perfectly plausible thing to do, don't you think? I just hope there won't be a case on then..."

All of a sudden the melancholic mood was lifted again, the prospect of being able to see each other so soon made tomorrow's parting a little less sad.

Then Charlie swallowed and looked at his lover. "Would you mind if I called my brother and told him about us?" He had thought about this today as Spencer had been at work and had decided it was the for best if he told Don the truth. "I kind of don't want to go home without him knowing."

"No, of course not."

Charlie reached for his phone that was on the coffee table in front of them but didn't let go of Spencer.

"Would you like to be alone for the call?", the other asked but he shook his head.

The reason why he wanted to tell Don now and not when he was back was that he felt he needed some kind of support. It would be easier with the reassuring feeling that Spencer's presence gave him. Still, he had to work up some courage to dial the number and he felt his heart beating fast as he held the phone to his ear. Having his boyfriend next to him also meant that he had no way back now. He _had_ to tell his brother.

"Hi Charlie!", Don's voice sounded cheerfully in his ear.

"Hey Don, how are you doing?", he answered and hoped he didn't sound nervous.

"I'm great, thanks, I'm just on my way home from work. How are you?"

"Fine. I... I wanted to... Um... I'll be leaving Virginia tomorrow morning so I should make it home on Monday morning the latest.", he hastily said, his heart hammering even harder.

"Don't you have a lecture in the afternoon?"

"I do but I should be in time for that, don't worry." He cleared his throat.

"Uh, OK. Just make sure you're home safely!"

"I will. Um. And Don?"

"Yeah?"

He felt Spencer's arm around his waist holding him firmly and took a deep breath. "I'm... I'm in a relationship now."

"Oh, right. Actually I thought so."

"With a man.", he added, his heart beating to an almost unbearable crescendo, pounding loudly in his ear, threatening to drown out his brother's voice. He held his breath while he felt Spencer's pressing him even more close, his left hand stroking Charlie's shoulder in a comforting manner.

There was a tiny pause before Don answered, "Oh... Good."

"Wh... Good?", he spluttered.

"Yeah! Fine. Really. As long as you're happy I'm cool with that, don't worry!"

"Oh.", Charlie replied, relaxing a bit and not yet entirely grasping the meaning of his brother's words. Had he truly said 'good'? He didn't really know what to say now. Don had actually sounded as if he had meant what he had said. "Ah. OK.", he added to fill the awkward silence that had settled.

"Well, if that's all I'll see you on Monday I guess!"

"Um. Yeah. See you on Monday!", Charlie replied and hung up. For two seconds he stared at his mobile, then at Spencer. "He doesn't mind." He was still baffled by his brother's reaction. He didn't know what he had expected but surely some amount of surprise would have seemed appropriate... He felt a slight kiss on his temple and whispered, "Thanks for being there!" Finally the relief washed through him and he smiled into his lover's shoulder.


	7. The MasterMistress of my Passion

In contrast to the nights before their lovemaking was slow and less fierce, both trying to make it last as long as they could, exchanging tender kisses and stroking each other gently. They were holding on to each other desperately and afterwards they both tried to stay awake as long as they could just to enjoy ever single second they had together.

But all too soon morning came and Charlie showered and got dressed, letting Spencer sleep a little longer. With frantic, urgent kisses they said goodbye until Charlie managed to leave, blinking away tears as he drove away from his beloved, the long way to his hometown still ahead of him.

* * *

><p>Hotch stared at the document in front of him. He wondered what 'enthalpy of evaporation' meant and whether he would understand more if he attended the conference on it. He sincerely doubted it. He looked it up on the internet and saw that the conference actually existed and took place on the stated date. Not that he thought that Reid would lie to him but with what he had discovered last weekend he had thought that perhaps, just perhaps, the conference was a handy excuse for Reid to have a few days off.<p>

Last disastrous Saturday night Hotch had met up with his brother who had come to visit him. The concierge at Sean's hotel had told them that there was a bar only one block away. So they had decided to go there. The moment they had entered both had articulated something along the lines of "Hnggh!". Sean had done so because he had realised they were in a gay bar. Aaron had said it because he had seen his youngest subordinate make out with another man while the stereo had cheerfully blared _Relax, take it easy!_ Before he had been able to even think about this any further his brother had dragged him out of the bar and they had gone somewhere else.

It has to be mentioned that this scene had not been the reason why Hotch had found the evening disastrous. He had been surprised, yes, but it had certainly not ruined the night. No, the disaster had begun when his brother had gotten _very_ drunk in another bar and had started to sing _Smells Like Teen Spirit_. Actually, 'scream' was the accurate word for Sean's horrid performance. Aaron had brought him back to the hotel but then his brother had insulted the concierge who had sent them to the gay bar in the first place which had also been a rather embarrassing scene. Hotch tried not to think of it. But then he remembered how Sean had vomited on his best pair of shoes, just as he had thought the worst part of the night was over. He shuddered. No, Hotch decided, seeing Reid kiss that other man had definitely been one of the few parts of the evening he didn't mind remembering.

This aforementioned event plus the fact that Reid had been late twice so far and looked wearier every day had lead to Hotch's assumption that he was having a relationship, or perhaps an affair, as bizarre as this might seem. The request for time off for further education had thus seemed a little suspicious at first glance but it all seemed to be in order. If Reid planned to go to this conference with someone it was none of Hotch's concern. After another moment of hesitation he put his signature on the document. Who else would find evaporation interesting, anyway?

* * *

><p>On his first day without Charlie he felt horribly lonely. Spencer hadn't even gotten enough sleep since he had talked on the phone to his lover for half of the night to make his drive home a little more entertaining. He had explained some of the more complicated Shakespearean sonnets and to enlighten someone on the Bard needed its time. He didn't mind having to start from the beginning, defining a sonnet and the difference between pentameters and hexameters, because it was the most wonderful thing that Charlie just listened and that he was actually paying attention.<p>

As he went to get his third coffee with a considerable amount of sugar he met Garcia who was just brewing herself a cup, too. "Gosh, you look seriously wasted!", she said as she cast him a sidelong glance, "What kept you up all night?"

"Shakespeare's sonnets.", he answered, reaching for his favourite cup.

"Oh, and I there I go putting a bet on you partying every night since the weekend...", Garcia sighed mockingly as she added milk to her coffee.

"Would it surprise you much to hear that I _did_ party twice within the last seven days?", Reid answered and put his cup under the coffee brewer.

She turned to face him, looking astonished indeed. "So those clubber's eyes don't come from reading poetry?"

"They come from that, too.", he corrected her. Little did Garcia know that he had memorised all of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets and didn't need to _read_ them as such. However, he didn't want to tell her that he'd recited them all night over the phone. She would have only asked to whom.

"I never knew you like to... err... go out and stuff. Why haven't you told any of us? We could have joined you!"

Spencer shrugged and pressed the 'cappuccino' button. The machine started to clatter and rumble noisily. "Because nobody would have believed me. And Morgan would have made fun of me."

"Probably...", Garcia agreed. "But who did you party with?", she said quietly and leaned in, conspirationally raising an eyebrow, "Don't tell me you've got a girlfriend!".

"A friend from LA.", he sighed. Talking about Charlie made him miss him even more.

"A woman?", she prodded.

He shook his head, not wanting to talk about any of this anymore.

"Oh, a gentleman it is then...", Garcia said knowingly and clasped her cup with both hands.

He nodded and as the brewer spit out its last drop of coffee he took his own cup.

"As in 'master-mistress'?", she added quietly.

"Wh-?", Reid started, not only surprised of Penelope's knowledge of poetry but mainly taken aback because she had been spot on with her suspicion. She wasn't even a profiler! Was his behaviour that easy to read?

Before he could even think of something to say Rossi came into the kitchenette as well, casually asking "Hey, what are you talking about?"

"Shakespeare's 20th sonnet!", Garcia answered like a shot and Reid saw that she really knew what she was talking about for the expression she had used before was from that poem: _A woman's face with nature's own hand painted, / Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion_. He had read these very lines to Charlie early this morning, explaining why this particular sonnet had weak endings on every single line.

Rossi paused for a moment and stared at them with very obvious astonishment shining in his eyes before he went to the refrigerator to get himself a bottle of water. "Uh, Shakespeare?", he muttered as he closed the door. Spencer inwardly sighed with relief when he realised that his friend probably didn't even know the content of the poem Garcia had been talking about.

"Well my fair boys, I need to go back to work.", Penelope changed the subject and walked towards her office, "See you around lunchtime!"

"Fair boy?", Rossi asked with an amused smile and looked at Garcia's pink-clad back while she left the kitchenette, "Me?"

"Uh, I'll be off, too!", Reid mumbled, "Should really finish that report on the Lancaster-case..."

* * *

><p><strong>Good afternoon my dear lovelies!<strong> **I hope you are all well and may enjoy the pre-Christmas time, whether you are religious or not! **

**First of all, I must tell you I'm not entirely happy with this chapter. Penelope and Shakespeare just don't really go well together in my mind. I'm sure she's intelligent and I really love her character. But... I don't even know why I think it's not her to quote Shakespeare. =/ So. Erm. Ignore that.**

**I also just realised the chapter /is/ a bit short. Sorry. It just seemed like a good point for an interruption. The next one is going to be longer. And in the one after that things are finally going to get angsty, as I promised.**

**I'm afraid I'm having writers block at the moment, concerning this very story. I somehow don't know how to end it. Gah! I had some sort of plan when I started but now the story is longer than I expected it to be... And the only ending I can think of now just seems rather boring. I usually don't ask for reviews or pms since I think it's entirely up to you if you want to comment or not, but this time I'd be really grateful if you could send any suggestions or things you'd like to read in this story. Pretty please? *makes puppy eyes* I can't promise it's going to happen but I really need some inspiration. I will love you forever if you write to me (if it's not spam/flame ^^)!  
><strong>


	8. Vegas, Baby!

He had so hoped that there would not be a case but, of course, destiny seemed to hate him and there _was_ a case on the weekend before the conference. Actually he didn't believe in destiny but his bad luck was easier to endure if he had something to blame for it. All he could hope for was that the crime would be solved in time but he knew he could not rely on that. Plus, his nights without much sleep hadn't made his brain work better, on the contrary.

As he climbed into the jet, firmly gripping his go bag, he decided he'd try to sleep after the briefing. They were flying to Vegas and he might get about four hours if he was lucky. He should work on the case but he was no good for the team if he arrived at the crime scene feeling wasted.

* * *

><p>Twelve hours later the exhausted BAU team arrived at their hotel. They had only made little progress on their case and it involved child abuse which was always a highly depressing matter. On the jet Reid had dreamt of Riley Jenkins again but he had assumed it was because it had been a similar case and thus the nightmare hadn't really bothered him.<p>

The receptionist handed them their keys but as Spencer wanted to turn away to the elevator with the others he held him back, announcing that someone had left him a message. In wonderment he received the note. _If you get this before Sunday noon: Room 304_, it said in the well-known writing he had previously seen on notepads and blackboards. He looked up and smiled at the concierge.

Several minutes later he had changed his clothes, combed his hair, shaved, brushed his teeth and stood in front of room 304, knocking audibly. As an elderly man with grey hair and a prominent nose opened the door he looked at him in bewilderment.

"I... uh... sorry, there seems to be a-"

"Ah, you must be Dr. Reid!", the man interrupted and put out his hand.

"Yes...", he answered, not quite understanding what was happening there. Had he somehow misunderstood the note? Did that man have the same handwriting as Charlie? But he was an expert on handwriting and had been pretty sure it had been the same!

"Oh, I'm sorry, I should probably introduce myself! My name is Alan Eppes, I'm Charlie's father."

Finally, the scales fell from Spencer's eyes. "Oh, I see!" He smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I wasn't informed about this at all."

The other man shook his head and sighed. "I told Charlie to text you but apparently he wasn't listening. That's so typical... Please, do come in!", he gestured into the hotel room, "My son just went to buy us toothbrushes because we forgot to bring some. He'll be back any minute."

Spencer stepped into the room which looked exactly like his own except for the luggage in it, feeling a bit odd about meeting his boyfriend's father.

"How come you and Charlie are in Vegas?", he asked as Mr. Eppes closed the door, "I thought he had to prepare that lecture he is giving on Tuesday at the UVa."

"Well, yesterday I found Charlie hurriedly packing again and I asked where he was going. He told me he was going to Las Vegas. That was the second time he wanted to leave all of a sudden just to meet you and I thought this time I'll accompany him because I wanted to meet you, too. He was behaving rather weirdly in the last few days and I do hope you understand that I was a little worried."

Spencer shook his head and couldn't help smiling. "Of course I do."

Then Mr. Eppes leant forward expectantly. "So... What are your intentions?", he asked win a very serious air.

Spencer blinked. "Uh... Intentions?"

"Concerning my son!"

"Oh..."

"Is this relationship something serious? Because for him it is!"

"Yes of course it's serious! Mr. Eppes, I can't even begin to explain how much Charlie means to me! I've never loved anyone as much as I love him!"

The grey haired man nodded, apparently accepting his words. "I just don't want his heart broken, you see. He didn't have it easy with that brain of his. His insight on human nature isn't as good as his knowledge on mathematics and I don't want him to get hurt."

"I won't let this happen.", Spencer promised.

They heard someone open the door and before Spencer could even start to turn around he felt someone hurtling into him from behind, and then there were Charlie's arms around him, almost violently embracing him, pressing the air out of his lungs, and suddenly everything was as it should be. As his boyfriend loosened his tight grip around his chest Spencer managed to turn at last and to hold him properly. "You're being mad again, coming here just for me!", he whispered into his ear.

"That's how you like me most, admit it!", Charlie whispered back.

Spencer smiled and drew back. "I do."

Mr. Eppes cleared his throat. "So boys, how shall we do this?", he asked asked. "I think I'll leave you two to your date or whatever you want to call it and set out for my very fist night in this formidable town on my own..."

"No dad!", Charlie insisted, "I will _not_ let you loose all alone in Vegas! We can go somewhere together."

"Only if you promise I won't feel like a fifth wheel!", his father replied just as stubbornly. "I have a feeling you'll only talk about things I don't even want to understand..."

"How about if we join my team?", Spencer suggested, "They're having dinner at a Chinese restaurant and left only ten minutes ago."

Charlie looked at him in relief. "That sounds good!"

_Great_, he thought, _now I just have to tell the team who they are_... He still hadn't told anyone about his new relationship, not even Garcia who had been so perceptive.

* * *

><p>It hadn't been as bad as he had expected. Nobody had fainted or choked on their drink. No screaming fits or fits of hysterical laugher had erupted. And everyone had managed not to drop their chopsticks. Especially Morgan had reacted calmer on the announcement than he had thought. Penelope had apparently even heard of Charlie's work on game theory. She and the other girls seemed eager to know everything about Charlie, and between giggles they bombarded him with questions. All in all, everyone had been very friendly and nice and seemed happy for him.<p>

Now Spencer was sitting opposite his lover and next to Hotch and JJ on the long table in the Chinese restaurant, losing a veritable war against his chopsticks while Morgan who was sitting to Charlie's left kept laughing at him.

"An IQ of 187 plus years of practice and still not able to use these!", his best friend joked, "Look Reid, it's easy!".

Morgan took a bit of red pepper between his own sticks and easily managed to eat it. Spencer couldn't help glaring at him for a second. In his eyes Morgan was just showing off. At least Charlie didn't seem to be impressed at all by his best friend's extraordinary chopstick skills.

"Increase the pressure on your index finger a little.", his boyfriend suggested quietly.

The slice of chicken didn't make it to Spencer mouth but landed right back on his plate.

Morgan still grinned but Charlie still didn't laugh. "Try an angle of approximately twenty degrees."

Spencer did as he was told and took up his reluctant chicken, carefully estimating the angle his chopsticks were indicating.

It worked.

He tried again.

It still worked.

Morgan stared and Charlie smiled at him.

"Why has nobody ever _told_ me?", Spencer said after he had swallowed his food, shaking his head and frowning at his still half filled plate, "It's all in the angle!"

Morgan just tried not to smirk too noticeably.

* * *

><p>Two and a half hours later Charlie was lying awake in the dark, his eyes fixed on the ceiling but not taking in what they saw and his left hand absentmindedly and very slightly stroking his lover's shoulder while his right was holding him close. He felt Spencer's weight heavy on him because they had not moved much after sex and he felt almost unbearably hot but didn't want to move for anything in this world. His boyfriend had rested his head on his chest and he saw from his occasional blinking that he was still awake as well. He felt Spencer's finger trace patterns on his upper arm but only after some time realised he was forming prime numbers. He smiled to himself and let the finger of his left hand begin to stroke his lover's skin in similar fashion, but he was creating letters. He felt Spencer's hand stop moving as he tried to make sense of what Charlie was writing. After he had spelled out the last verse on his lover's delicate shoulder blade Spencer finally moved his head to gaze back at him and asked, "How did you know the 130th sonnet was my favourite?"<p>

"I didn't."

"I like it so much because it's deglorifying the lover and evokes a completely realistic, ungrateful picture of her, or in your version, him, and yet...", he was interrupted by a yawn, "...and yet the last couplet makes it a wonderful declaration of love."

Charlie had the impression that Spencer wanted to say more but he just blinked at him.

"But what _is_ love? He never explains that, does he? I mean I can't really describe what I feel now but I'm sure you can explain it logically."

"Well, it's got a strong connection to the biological drive when you look at its biochemical correlate.", Spencer started, "However, considering the extremely long lasing effects of limerence, that is infatuation, it seems obvious that neuroendoctrine processes are the cause of the phenomenon of love. Basically your body sends out chemical messengers, or brain elements, such as dopamine, hydrocortisone, adrenaline and endorphin. Plus, you send out a lot more pheromones than usual which makes you more attractive to others. You do lose serotonin though which makes you behave a little like someone having a mental illness."

"Love is a mental illness?"

"Um. No. Just _like_ a mental illness.", his lover corrected him, "Some parts of it, that is."

Charlie pretended he hadn't heard that. "So we're both officially mad now."

"Oh, but we have been mad before we fell in love."

"But now we're even more mad!", he insisted and heard Spencer laugh


	9. Memories of a Disordered Mind

Early in the next morning Spencer was just on his way to interrogate another parental couple one more time about the day of their little boy's disappearance with his boss and Prentiss when Hotch's mobile rung.

"Hotchner?", his supervisor answered it.

Spencer saw him frown. He seemed to listen, intently, to what the other person was saying.

"Actually, we should have turned left there…", Prentiss said but Hotch ignored her, still looking very stern as he was listening to the caller.

"OK, thanks Garcia! We're on our way.", he finally said just before ending the call. Reid who sat on the passenger seat saw him swallow before he started talking again. "Garcia picked up a signal from one of the victim's phones. She managed to track it down and knows where the caller, probably our unsub, is right now. She'll inform the others and the LVPD but we're the ones that are closest to the address at the moment so it'll be up to us to find him."

Both his subordinates gave a brief nod of understanding.

"It might be that someone else found the phone, the unsub might have disposed of it soon after the murder.", Prentiss interposed.

"I doubt it.", Reid said, "We never found any items of the other victims. And the profile suggests he's abused and killed children for a very long period of time now so he's unlikely to suddenly make mistakes."

"Then why would he use the phone at all? That _is_ a mistake!", Prentiss insisted.

"None of the other victims ever had a mobile with them, they were just too young.", Hotch suggested, "He's probably never dealt with the problem of what to do with one before. He may not know we're able to trace its calls. Although I would have thought he's clever enough to-" All of a sudden he stopped talking.

Puzzled, Spencer looked at him and saw no apparent reason for his supervisor's abrupt silence. Hotch still stared at the street in front of them with his usual strict deadpan face. And yet… and yet his white knuckles betrayed the remarkable force with which he gripped the steering wheel… and yet he pressed his lips together even more than usual... Why was he nervous? Why was he _that_ nervous?

"The profile does not suggest he's particularly intelligent.", Prentiss remarked. "Why do you think he's clever?"

"He's been clever enough to evade us so far and I think that shows quite a degree of intelligence.", Hotch explained but Reid wasn't convinced it was the real reason for his remark before. What did his boss know that he didn't want to tell them?

Before he could ask they arrived at the address Garcia had found out for them and there was no time for conversation anymore. They all got out, drew their guns and quickly approached the little house.

"Reid, get to the backyard to guard the rear entrance!", Hotch ordered in a harsh whisper.

Spencer didn't bother answering but immediately followed the command, trying to hurriedly sneak past the window unseen. Soon he heard his boss and his fellow agent knock on the door of the house. _Whose house?_ Reid suddenly realised that Hotch had never told them who lived here. He shook his head and thought that there had been more important things on his supervisor's mind than that while they had been in the car. It was probably just not very significant to solve the case. They were here and that was what mattered. He pointed his gun at the rear entrance, waiting for it to open. He knew it was unlikely that the unsub tried to escape through it and that his boss had sent him here precisely because of this. Somehow he always, or mostly at the least, got the jobs that were the least dangerous.

He indistinctly heard his friends shouting something, probably announcing they were from the FBI and asking the owner of the house to open the door.

Nothing seemed to happen after that.

Reid stared at the shabby wooden door in front of him, his mind threatening to drift off. If the unsub was here he would either open the front door and pretend to be innocent or try to escape in a _not_ obvious way. The back entrance was far too obvious... Hotch had called out that they were from the FBI and if the unsub really was clever he'd realise that someone would be positioned here. He tried to keep the whole back of the house in his view.

He flinched as someone actually opened the back door, ran a few steps towards him and then stopped dead, staring unbelievingly at the man pointing a gun at him.

"Spencer?", the person finally managed to say.

Reid just stared back. This couldn't be... "D... D... Dad?", he stammered bewildered.

"What are you doing here? Doesn't look like you're just visiting.", William Reid looked at the gun his son was still holding.

"What are _you_ doing here?", Spencer replied as his brain was starting to function again. His father being here meant that either he was the unsub or that he was connected to the crimes. He had tried to escape, after all. It meant that he was guilty, that was what logic told him. But how could this be? He remembered how he had suspected his father of killing little Riley Jenkins and how horribly wrong he had been. Somehow this must be a mistake...

"This is my house!", William answered, "I moved here two months ago. Don't tell me you didn't know that, I wrote to your mother!"

_That's why Hotch didn't tell me who lives here!_, Reid realised. _He knew it was William!_

"But now it's your turn to answer the question!", his father demanded.

"I'm investigating a case. I'm afraid you're a suspect. Hands up!" Something kept nagging him at the back of his mind. He was arresting his own dad. The situation seemed rather absurd to him. _But the profile says that the unsub has most likely abused his own child_. This had not happened! He was sure of that.

"Me? A suspect?"

There was an old memory emerging, only recently rediscovered when he had been under hypnosis. He, Spencer, only four years old, lying in his bed and pretending to sleep while his dad had talked to him. _I don't wanna be here_. Yes, he had said that to the hypnotist but just because he had not liked his dad's presence.

"Hands up where I can see them!", Reid repeated because his father was still not moving.

But _why_ had he not liked his presence? At that point he hadn't been angry with him because he hadn't left his mother yet...

"I'm arresting you on suspicion of the rape and murder of Kevin Evans, Nathan Kelsey and Adrian Anderson.", he cited his father's rights. "You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you fail to mention when questioned something which you intend to rely on in court." He hated his voice for quavering. "Anything you say may be given in evidence."

William Reid grinned at his son. Disdainfully. Evilly even.

And all of a sudden more fragments of suppressed memories surfaced from the depths of Spencer's mind. Things he had never realised they were in his mind at all. He swallowed. _No, it can't be! This is not true! _He tried to focus on the person in front of him._ Why have I never remembered all this?_ Suddenly his hands that held the gun were shaking uncontrollably. _Daddy loves you, you know that_, a voice resounded in his head. His father had whispered this into his ear, standing behind him. No, not standing... They hadn't been standing. He had been lying on his stomach and something had pressed him down. Not something, someone, a heavy body. William's body. All the vague bits and pieces swimming in his mind suddenly made sense. The short second he had just relived made him feel sick, so incredibly sick. It wasn't even a scene where he had actually been abused but it had happened a few minutes before. All the dreadful fear and horror of the long-passed moment befell him again. He was feeling feeble, his knees were shaking and he had to kneel down on the dried brown grass to vomit, the gun falling out of his limp hands. He heard someone hurry past him and tried to reach for his Glock again but he knew that in his weakness he'd be too late.

"Stop or I'll shoot!", he heard Prentiss' clear voice somewhere in front of him.

Reid looked up and saw her standing in the back door of the house, pointing her own gun at his dad who had stopped dead in his tracks once again as he had heard her call out. Still feeling frail and ill Spencer got up again and helped his friend handcuffing their suspect. He felt Emily's questioning and worried glance more than he saw it but decided to ignore it. He wasn't going to talk about this, not now and not to her.

Both agents lead William to the front of the house where the police had arrived. While Prentiss made sure that his dad was given over to the LVPD he saw Hotch coming out of the house and directing his steps towards him.

"You're as white as chalk! Are you alright?", his supervisor asked.

Reid nodded.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you it was your father's place! I hoped that me or Prentiss would find him first."

"I almost let him go. I... I was so... uh, surprised to see him and when he started to flee I didn't react at first..."

"That's understandable." He was surprised to find that Hotch didn't criticise him. "It was my fault! If I had told you in the car you'd have been prepared." His boss sighed. "He might not be guilty, you know. I didn't find any evidence inside. We'll need the forensics to have a look at the place though. Did he confess anything?"

Spencer shook his head, trying to focus on his work again. "No, he didn't say much. He tried to escape though. Doesn't that indicate he's guilty of something? And he had the victim's phone. Did you find it?"

Hotch's answer was negative. "I only had a quick glance at everything though." Then he changed the subject, "You know that I must exclude you from the case as long as your father is a suspect. We are not even supposed to talk about it now."

Reid looked at his boss but didn't argue. He didn't feel like working now. Actually he felt a lot like crying or even vomiting again. The sickness in his stomach was still there. "Can you drop me off at the hotel on our... on your way back to the police department?", he asked instead.

His supervisor nodded. "That's not a problem. Keep your phone switched on though. If he doesn't confess we might have to interrogate you."

"Interrogate me?"

"About your childhood. To see whether William fits the profile." Hotch didn't have to explain any further.

"But... I... I don't remember anything.", he lied and avoided his boss' eyes. He really didn't want to talk about this. He might just burst into tears if he had to. And he didn't want his friends to know. He was really glad that half of the team wasn't here now.

Hotch's expression was unreadable as he nodded curtly. "Still. Don't turn your phone off."

Spencer sighed. "Alright." There was still the faint possibility of his father being innocent and explaining very plausibly why he had the phone of Adrian Anderson.

* * *

><p>Nobody talked as they drove to the hotel. Prentiss seemed to want to ask questions but restrained from doing so as she saw Hotch's stern look. Reid kept staring out of the window wishing he were somewhere else.<p>

Without much ado his fellow agents let him get out at the hotel and drove off to do their work while he made his way to the third floor.

They'd question his father. What would he tell them? Did he know that he had remembered everything? Was it really _everything_ that he remembered? He shuddered and hoped that there were not more suppressed memories.

He knocked at Charlie's room and wished with all his heart that his lover was here. He wouldn't stand being alone with his thoughts and memoirs. The moment the door opened and Charlie's figure appeared in the doorframe Spencer flung his arms around his neck and only now started to cry.

"Honey?", his boyfriend said in bewilderment and shock.

Spencer wasn't able to answer as violent sobs forced their way out of his throat and he buried his face in his lover's shoulder. He felt the other's arms firmly around him, heard how the door was closed and felt how he was led further into the room. He was relieved that Charlie didn't ask any questions, that he just held him and let him weep. For a long while that seemed like eternity to him they just stood in the middle of the hotel room until Spencer felt he had cried out all the tears he had. He withdrew a little but found he couldn't meet the other's eyes that were filled with concern. He had an unpleasant taste in his mouth from vomiting earlier and went to the bathroom to rinse it. Charlie followed him, looking even more worried than before. When he straightened himself again his boyfriend came closer again and put one hand on his shoulder.

"Baby, what happened?" Charlie's voice was wavering.

Spencer turned around to face him and pulled him closer, buried his nose in his curly hair. The world was a bit better when he felt Charlie's arms around him. He sighed. "I arrested my dad today.", he managed to say.

"What? For those child murders?" His lover sounded aghast.

"Yes..."

"But this must be some kind of mistake, surely!"

"I don't know, perhaps it is." He swallowed. "But somehow... that moment triggered some m... memories from my childhood." There were tears in his eyes again and he had to blink them away.

"What memories?" Charlie was holding him even tighter, sounding afraid.

He heaved a sigh and tried not to burst into tears again. "Of how I was abused. Sexually."

"Oh go-! I... Oh...", the other man stammered.

"I must have suppressed those memories...", Spencer felt the need to explain. "They weren't really gone. They were there all the time but it feels like I only understood what they meant today. Only now they make sense..." There were hot tears on his cheeks. "Why haven't I remembered before?"

Charlie didn't answer but Spencer felt his hand in his hair. It felt strangely comforting. He kissed his lover's temple and whispered, "Thanks for being there."

"I wish I could do more." Charlie sounded tearful, too.

"It's all I need." Spencer stroked his boyfriend's cheek and found it wet. How he hated his father for making both of them feel so miserable! "I think I'll lie down for a bit and try to sleep." He felt extremely drained and a little headachy.

They went to the bed and Spencer laid down, closing his eyes. Then he felt his lover's hand in his and automatically he smiled.

"Honey, I... I don't know...", Charlie began and he opened his eyes again, "Would you mind if I... if I hold you?" His boyfriend was still weeping silently.

"I'd love that!", he assured him.

Charlie crawled onto the bed as well, his arms gently pulling Spencer in a warm and soothing embrace. "I just don't want to scare you.", he explained.

"You don't, my love!", he ascertained. Slowly he leaned in for an almost chaste kiss, adding, "You're wonderful."

Charlie smiled weakly amid tears.


	10. Aftermath

He was wakened by a knock on the door and felt Charlie get up. Instantly he missed his affectionate touch. The headache had gone but as he remembered what had happened today the sick feeling was back. Spencer became aware of muffled voices at the door but refused to open his eyes. He wanted the world to leave him alone.

Only seconds later he heard Charlie sit on the bed again. He felt his hand slightly, carefully touch his shoulder and blinked at him. "Honey, wake up, your team is going home."

He sat up. "They solved the case?"

"He confessed.", a deep voice said. Spencer looked up at Hotch. It must have been him who had knocked. He saw that his supervisor had his brown satchel with him and realised that he must have left it in the car when they had gotten back to the hotel. "And forensics found the phone with his fingerprints."

He nodded, avoiding Hotch's gaze. "I'll get packing."

His boss shook his head. "You don't have to. I arranged two month off for you."

"Off?"

Hotch nodded. "Starting now. Which means you can do whatever you like."

"But I want to work!" It was true. Spencer needed something to take his mind off his dreadful memories.

"I won't let you! Go to that conference on evaporation or whatever it was if you like, but I don't want to see you in the office." His boss looked completely serious. Spencer wondered what his father had told them in his confession. Hotch's dark eyes were unreadable. Did he know about the abuse? Did they all know?

He sighed and answered, "All right."

"Of course you can call and meet any of us if you like. I just think it's better for you if you take a break from work."

"Okay..."

After his boss had left his other team members came round to say goodbye. From their grave and serious expressions and JJ's tight embrace he read that they knew or at the least suspected the truth but nobody addressed the topic for which he was grateful.

When he was alone with Charlie again he realised that Mr. Eppes was not here, too. "Where's your dad by the way?", he asked.

Charlie smiled apologetically. "He's discovered the gambler inside him. He's been playing poker the whole morning."

"Oh dear..."

"I told him, it's his pension he's playing with but he wouldn't listen... Anyway, what are your plans for the two months?" He came over to hold him again.

"I don't know... Can... can I come with you to LA?"

His boyfriend nodded and smiled shyly at him. "That'd be great! Let's check the flights, there might be one going tonight if we're lucky."

"Wait, what about the conference?"

"I'll t tell them can't come, that I've got a fever or something-"

"No, I really looked forward to it! Why can't we go together like we planned?"

His lover seemed surprised. "Sure we can... I just thought you don't want to go anymore."

"Oh, I could need something to take my mind off things.", Spencer sighed.

"Then we'll better try to book you a flight for this afternoon so you hopefully can fly with me..." Charlie let go of him and hurried to his laptop. It still had its screensaver on because he had forgotten to turn it off. He started to type frantically. "Perfect, you can still take the one at four... shall I book it?" He turned and glanced at his lover.

Spencer sat down on the bed again. "Sounds good. What about the hotel?"

"I booked a double room since we were supposed to meet there anyway." Charlie was looking at the screen again. "I need your passport for the booking."

* * *

><p>Not long afterwards both were on their way to the airport. Charlie was constantly mothering Spencer who didn't really mind for once. Perhaps it was because he'd forgive Charlie everything or because he needed someone to care for him or perhaps he just knew that his boyfriend meant well and only wanted to show he was there for him. Either way Spencer let his lover help him carry the luggage, treat him to lunch and coffee and hold him whenever possible. He was sure it would make Charlie only feel useless and even more sad if he'd not let him help with these small things.<p>

Due to the time difference it was already dark outside when they got to Reagan National Airport in Washington DC. Charlie had booked them an Amtrak ticket to Charlottesville where they arrived rather exhausted. After a short dinner they had a quiet night in and watched a movie, cuddling on the couch.

* * *

><p>Charlie had expected them to fall asleep soon. He'd thought that perhaps Spencer was going to cry again, or that they would be snuggling with each other.<p>

He hadn't expected _this_. His boyfriend's hands sliding underneath his shirt with a more than obvious intention. His neck being covered with fierce, hot kisses from behind. Bite marks even, something they had never done before. Spencer's erection was rubbing against his leg. No, he really hadn't expected this. And as much as he doubted that this was the right thing to do now he couldn't help but feel aroused himself. His lover began to try to pull Charlie's shirt over his head.

"Uh, baby?" It felt a little weird to address someone behind him.

"Yeah?"

"Do you really thing we should... er... do this? Today?"

Spencer was breathing hard. "You make me feel good."

"Oh..." Giving in was so easy. "Alright then..." He took his shirt off.

His boyfriend was already fumbling with the rim of his boxers with hands shaking with eagerness and tenseness. As he managed to pull them down he pushed Charlie forward so that he was lying face down on the bed. He felt his lover lie on him from behind.

"W... wait!"

"I want you!" His boyfriend's voice was hoarse with desire.

"Give me a cushion."

Spencer didn't ask but only seemed to understand why they needed a cushion as he saw how his lover put it underneath his belly.

"Oh shit, the lube's in my bag-", Charlie began but breathed in sharply and audibly in shock and pain as his boyfriend entered him, forcefully and without preparing him. He couldn't help wincing and bucked away but Spencer didn't try again. He felt his hot, quick breath on his shoulderblades.

"I'm sorry! Baby, I'm so... so sorry!"

He felt how Spencer rolled off him. Charlie turned to look at him and saw he was crying again. "Baby, it's okay!", he whispered and pulled him close.

"No! It's not okay!", his lover answered, sobbing. "Baby, please don't leave me!"

"Honey, I won't leave you, I promise!" He stroked his beloved's wet cheeks. "Why would you believe I'd do that?"

"Because I'm... I'm like him."

"Honey, look at me!" His serious voice made Spencer turn his head. "That is not true! You are not like your father at all!"

"But you didn't want to-"

"Yes I did!", Charlie interrupted, "I did want to have sex with you. You're my boyfriend!"

"But I hurt you!" Spencer was still weeping.

"You just forgot to prepare me, that's no big deal. And you know what's the most important thing?"

His lover blinked at him, his expression revealing that in spite of everything Charlie was telling him he was not convinced that things between them were all right. "What is?"

"You're sorry!" They locked eyes for a moment and then Charlie leaned forward for a soft kiss. "See, I know you're not like him. Not at all."

"You don't think I'm... gross?" Spencer still appeared ashamed of himself.

"No, of course not! I think you're wonderful!"

Finally, a little smile crept on his lover's face. It didn't stay there long though because he became serious again, biting his lip. "Perhaps we really shouldn't make love. For a while. Would... would that be okay?"

Charlie nodded in understanding. He nestled up to Spencer, whispering, "Yes, sure it is."

* * *

><p>Luckily Charlie had his lecture on the first day of the conference. Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to focus on it. He'd never admit it but it was very tough for him to cope with fact that his lover had been molested as a child. He was shocked and he felt sorry for his boyfriend and all the embraces he shared with him were also a source of solace for himself. Charlie was also exceptionally insecure about how to react and what to do best since he didn't know whether Spencer wanted to talk about it or try to forget it.<p>

There was one other thing that troubled him. To his surprise Amita had been at the conference as well. It wasn't really usable for her thesis or anything else she worked on so he thought she must have come because of him. That was of course very nice and he wouldn't have minded if she hadn't been trying to spend as much time as possible with him and Spencer. Charlie wasn't in the mood for small talk at all and knew that neither was his lover. Plus, Amita appeared to dislike Spencer.

All in all the three days were rather straining for him, and he was happy when the last lecture was over and they were able to finally have dinner alone.


	11. Signs Of Attraction

With a start, Spencer woke exactly twenty two minutes before the alarm was going to ring. He was drenched in sweat because he had had another nightmare. A sickening feeling quickly spread from his stomach to his throat. However much he tried to avoid thinking of his formerly suppressed memories during the day, at night they were present, forcing themselves into his mind like a force of nature he couldn't resist. Appalling pictures and scenes used to flicker through his dreams, sometimes real ones, sometimes even more horrible ones that his mind had made up. At night he couldn't escape his memories. At night he was forced to relive everything he wanted to forget so badly. At night his past was coming alive again.

Carefully he got up, trying not to wake his lover, and went to the bathroom to go to the loo and brush his teeth. His eyes seemed more hollow than ever in the unforgiving light of the little white-tiled room. When he was finished he went back to bed because he didn't really want to get up. Half-awake Charlie mumbled, "Not yet!" as he pulled the other man closer into his embrace, before he dozed off again. In the last three days his boyfriend had been seeking contact more than ever before, almost desperately clinging to him whenever he could. He knew that Charlie was a little lost with this new situation, that he didn't know what to do and how to act. It seemed like his increased closeness was the only possible way for Charlie to show Spencer how much he cared for him. He was trying to pass to him all the support and warmth he could.

With any other human being this would have bothered Spencer for he usually didn't like close contact with other persons. He even avoided shaking hands if possible. Somehow it had never been the same with Charlie. Perhaps it was because he trusted him, or because they both understood each other like nobody had ever before. He knew that if he shied away of Charlie's touch the other would empathise, just because he knew the feeling himself. He surely wouldn't think bad of him like others might if they observed his odd behaviour.

He buried his nose in his lover's warm neck and let the other's smell override all unpleasant feelings he had had. A little smile crept over his face as he nestled up to Charlie even more. As he was doing this he noticed the other's morning hard-on and had to stifle a grin. He almost regretted having asked his boyfriend to have no sex since Charlie had taken the commandment very seriously and hadn't done anything more than hugging him in the last few days. And although Spencer knew that if they had sex his memories were most likely to come back, just as they had the last time, when he had hurt his lover, he still couldn't deny that he missed sleeping with him. He couldn't help feeling attracted to Charlie. His body certainly was. Very gently he started to place little kisses on his boyfriend's throat.

Soon Charlie stirred and opened his eyes. He smiled at the young man caressing him and kissed him good morning. Then he separated from Spencer and got up.

"Honey, don't go!", he pleaded with a slightly sleepy voice and propped himself up on one elbow. "Our flight leaves in the afternoon, we don't need to hurry."

"Yeah… I… I'm not tired.", Charlie responded, averting his gaze.

"Come back, please!", he pretended to pout, "During the whole conference we haven't had the chance for a lie-in."

"I… It's just…" Charlie's cheeks went rather pink. "I think I'd better go and have a shower. I'm having an erection."

Spencer smiled. "Me, too." He lay into the cushions again. "Come here!"

The other lifted an eyebrow. "I thought you don't want to have any kind of… uh… sexual interaction."

Spencer was relieved to see his lover sit down on the bed again. "I just don't want to do something that reminds me of… it. I'm open for anything else."

After a moment of hesitation Charlie crept back under the sheet and tenderly slid his arms around Spencer's waist. There was definitely something like interest shining out of his eyes. "Care to show me what 'anything else' means?"

"Yeah…" Spencer placed one hand on the other's neck to pull him closer for a soft kiss. Very gently he bit Charlie's lip. He heard his lover's lustful whine but was surprised that the other didn't react as quickly and as roughly as he sometimes did. His boyfriend just pulled him closer and kept stroking his back but his hands never wandered anywhere else. Charlie's kisses remained soft and tender as well. It seemed it was up to Spencer to decide what they were going to do but he felt he was a little irresolute. He didn't really know what exactly he wanted, and what was going to be too much for him.

After a few minutes of careful fondling his lover appeared to notice his indecision and very gently pushed Spencer onto his back. Charlie began to nibble at his earlobe, then at his neck. Slowly his lover's left hand wandered downwards until it reached his crotch and started to rub Spencer's arousal through the fabric of his boxer shorts.

"Is that good?", Charlie huskily whispered into his ear and as an answer Spencer could only whimper wantonly. His boyfriend looked up and fixed his gaze on his eyes. A coy smile was on his face. "There's something we never did but we could try it now."

Charlie started to kiss his chest while his hands slowly pulled Spencer's boxers down. Only when he saw his lover's head wander even more downwards Spencer realised what he was about to do. "No!", he breathed.

Charlie looked up at him again. "I promise, you'll like it."

He shook his head. "Just… don't!"

His boyfriend stopped and came up to kiss his lips again. "I won't.", he whispered in between kisses that became more and more passionate, "Don't worry!" Then he drew back, both their lips were already swollen and they were breathing hard. "Shall we stop?", Charlie asked, looking concerned.

Spencer shook his head. "No."

"Then what would you like me to do, baby?", his lover inquired, smiling fondly at him.

"C… Could you touch me?", he stammered, going slightly red. He was still feeling a little uneasy when he had to talk about sex, even with his boyfriend.

Charlie kissed the corner of his mouth. "Sure.", he mumbled.

Spencer felt his lover's fingers close around his hard-on and a delighted groan slipped out of his throat. Charlie was moving his hand quickly, expertly up and down.

"Do you like that?", Spencer heard his lover whisper.

Between moans of pleasure he managed to gasp, "Y… yes! Oh… yes!"

Charlie started to rub him even faster, making Spencer stammer incoherent things. He came soon and was almost ashamed of how long he _hadn't_ lasted. Only now, as he was recovering a little from the high he had experienced he thought he should have done the same for Charlie and before the other could do anything else, Spencer almost forcefully pushed him on his back and rolled on him while his hand firmly gripped his lover's erection.

"Baby…" His lover seemed to want to say something but when Spencer began to stroke him he tilted back his head and just whined.

"Let me do the same for you…", Spencer whispered.

* * *

><p>With a content sigh Charlie pressed his face into the crook between his lover's wet throat and shoulder. Their flight back to LA was going to leave in several hours and it felt like they still had all the time in the world. They were standing in the shower together, both not wanting to separate the slightest bit from each other. It was hot water that was washing over both of them but he felt they were drowning in intimacy.<p>

"Marry me!"

Charlie lifted his head. "What?"

"Marry me!"

"Now?"

He heard Spencer chuckle into his hair. "No, not _right_ now, we're not in Vegas anymore. But soon."

He pulled back to be able to look at the other man. "Wait, this is... uh..."

Spencer's face fell. "You don't want to?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel bad!", Charlie reassured him, "It's just a bit... out of the blue. We've been together for mere days now! We're not even living together."

"I know. But I'm sure about this. I want to be with you. Forever!"

"Yes, me too. I... just... It's a bit too fast for me."

"Is it because of Amita?"

Charlie blinked in bewilderment. "What on earth does she have to do with this?"

"Didn't you notice? She likes you."

"That's because we're friends."

Spencer shook his head. "When she talks to you she's playing with her hair. It's most likely happening subconsciously but it's a sign she wants you to touch her hair. She's also often licking her lips, a clear sign of attraction. And she dislikes me because I'm competition."

"I... uh." Charlie was taken aback. "She really does all that? I never noticed."

His boyfriend smiled at him. "Don't worry, I'm the same. Completely oblivious to flirting attacks."

"Then I should consider myself lucky you noticed me!"

Spencer laughed quietly and leaned in to press his lips against the other's. "That was different.", he assured him between kisses.

"How? I wasn't really aware of anything until we kissed for the first time." He felt the taller man's thumbs slowly drawing circles on his bare shoulderblades.

"Oh yes you were. You gave all kinds of signals."

Charlie's breath was becoming more ragged with every kiss. "Like those you described?"

"Yeah. And I only noticed them because I thought that you and me were so very much alike."

When their lips met again Charlie slid out his tongue. He was pleasantly surprised at how readily the other accepted it as soon as it brushed against Spencer's lips. Tentatively he licked his lover's tongue with his, relishing the jolts of bliss this little movements caused inside him.

Shortly afterwards Spencer withdrew and sighed. "So why don't you want to?"

He needed a moment to remember what they had been talking about. "Actually... actually a big part of me just wants to say 'yes' and shag you against this wall just because it makes me so incredibly happy you asked."

Spencer leaned forward for an affectionate kiss, his hands slid down to Charlie's waist and he took a step backwards towards the cold tiled wall, pulling the smaller man with him. "So why don't you just do that?", he whispered, biting his lip in a clearly seductive gesture and then he started nibbling at the other's earlobe.

Charlie was rather taken aback as he understood how badly Spencer wanted this, just how serious this was for him. He was prepared to use his allure, a tactic that had never failed him so far; and worse, he'd let his lover have sex with him even though he knew in all likelihood he'd find it unpleasant. So Charlie pulled back a little and locked eyes with his lover. "Because there's another part of me that says we should be more reasonable."

Spencer put his forehead against his and sighed. "Haven't we been reasonable way too long?"

"Spencer, we hardly know each other!", he decidedly replied. Charlie saw his boyfriend's eyes widen in realisation and how something inside them broke and he knew then that he had been insensitive and that his voice had sounded too harsh. Something inside his lover had been destroyed by these few words and he felt how it slipped away from him to never come back. All he could do was to stand there and watch helplessly as his boyfriend let go of him and left the shower. He opened his mouth to say something that erased his words but he couldn't find anything appropriate to say. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean that the way it sounded!", he finally managed to shout, hoping it was not too late.

Quickly Charlie turned off the water and went after Spencer. He found him sitting on the hotel bed, hands covering his face, water dripping from his body because he hadn't taken a towel with him. He sat next to him and put his arms around the other's waist. He was relieved that Spencer didn't recoil at the touch. "Baby, I'm so sorry!", he whispered into his lover's ear, "I didn't mean to be so harsh to you!" He sighed with relief as he felt the other man lean into his embrace and slide his hands around him, too.

"I feel like I know you like nobody else before. I trust you. Completely.", Spencer said quietly, looking into his eyes.

"I know." Very gently he kissed his lover's cheek. "I feel like that, too."

"Why'd you have to say that, then? In the shower?"

Charlie sighed. "I meant... you know, facts. I hardly know anything about your past, about how you grew up."

Slowly, Spencer nodded. "I see. But it's not exactly important, is it?"

With his right hand, Charlie took the other's left elbow. He looked down at the crook of his lover's arm. "What's that, then?", he asked with a serious expression. "Is that really not important?"

Spencer followed his gaze and swallowed. On his left forearm were several faded red dots. Souvenirs from his drug addiction. He took a deep breath and nodded curtly. "There was this case. I was captured by a guy, Tobias Hankel, with dissociative identity disorder. You know, split personality."

Charlie just nodded.

"Sometimes he believed he was his father, at other times, the archangel Raphael and sometimes, himself. The first two characters... well, they tortured me because... they wanted me to confess my sins."

Very gently, Charlie pulled his lover closer as he started to shiver, either because of the memories or from the cold, he couldn't tell.

"It was Tobias who gave me the dilaudid. I didn't want him to do so but he said it helps." Spencer drew another deep breath. "And it did. Then the team found me. Secretly I took all the drugs I could find with me. You see I... I think I was depressed at that time. I felt so lonely." Spencer looked at his lover and Charlie saw fear in his eyes. Fear of rejection. "I felt like I couldn't talk to anyone about what I've been through. Nobody seemed to understand." He avoided his boyfriend's gaze. Charlie guessed his lover was anxious about how he was going to react.

"But you made it, didn't you?", he replied and gently stroked his lover's sleek, soaking wet hair. "You don't use anymore. These marks are old."

"I knew I couldn't keep my job if I continued. All my friends work at the FBI. I didn't want to become even more lonely."

"Didn't you talk to them?"

Spencer shook his head. "I didn't want them to treat me like a baby. They always do that when I tell them about my problems."

"What about your mother?" Charlie guessed that his boyfriend hadn't seen very much of his father, not if the mere sight of him had evoked forgotten memories.

There was a moment of hesitation before the other man answered. "She's schizophrenic. I don't think she'd understand. Sometimes she doesn't even recognise me."

Charlie sighed and gently kissed the other's chin. He'd wanted to kiss his temple but found he was slightly too short. There was a moment of silence as he continued stroking Spencer's hair, holding him close. "I'm not going anywhere, you know.", he assured his lover after a while.

The other man looked at him with mild confusion in his eyes.

"That's why you asked me to marry you, didn't you? You were afraid I'd leave you."

Spencer hung his head. "I... I guess... Charlie, I need you. I need you so much!"

"And I need you!", he replied, "I don't know what I would do without you, darling!" He stroked Spencer's cheek. "I don't want to know these things about your past to find your mistakes, or to laugh at you.", he explained. "I want to know them because they are part of the man I love."

Finally, the other man looked up at him with a little smile. "I guess you're right."

Charlie blinked. "About what?"

"Statistically speaking, couples who cohabited before marriage stay together longer than those who didn't. Perhaps we really should wait."

Charlie chuckled.

"What?"

"'Cohabited'!"

Spencer frowned, slightly irritated, "It _is_ the correct word!"

Charlie started passionately kissing his boyfriend again, until they both retreated to catch their breath. "Sorry for teasing you.", he mumbled.

Spencer sighed but appeared not to be bothered. "Come on, let's get dressed, it's cold."


	12. Of Libidinousness and Math Departments

"Sir? Are you alright?"

The voice woke him from his thoughts and quickly he turned away from the blackboard he had been staring at. "Uh... yes. No worries. Ah, Blenkinsop! Here to discuss your paper on Niels Bohr I assume?"

The young man with the curly black hair who stood in the doorframe nodded shyly. Charlie busied himself with searching his drawers for the student's paper, trying to take his mind off Spencer. Ever since they had arrived in Los Angeles a week ago he had been terribly absent-minded. There were moments, like just now, where he was in the middle of a thought process and suddenly he'd get distracted by thinking about his lover and he'd stand around, staring into space and doing absolutely nothing. It had even happened during a lecture once. Luckily the students had just assumed he was thinking about the subject he had explained. He knew he had to stop doing this but he couldn't. He didn't even want to make it stop.

Finally he found the paper he had been looking for. "So, there we go.", he said and laid it on the table and offered the student a seat.

* * *

><p>When Charlie came home later that day he found Spencer sitting alone in the parlour, reading a book on pigment manufacture in medieval times. The moment the other saw Charlie enter he got up and came over for a hug. Charlie instantly saw that his whole demeanour was different than it had been in the last few days. There was still an air of sadness and melancholy about him but he seemed to be calmer and less harried than he had been ever since he had arrested his father.<p>

Very gently he pulled away form the kiss in which his lover had engaged him. "What did you do today?", he asked. _Something must have happened_, he thought.

"Nothing fancy...", Spencer mumbled and kissed him again.

"Seriously though, what happened? You look like you feel a bit better."

"Oh, that.", he smiled at Charlie. "I talked to Derek over the phone."

"Ah." Charlie tried to ignore the little poisonous sting of jealousy in his heart. "About what?"

Spencer became serious again. "You know, when he was a child... he had been abused as well."

"Oh right!" He nodded, not able to hide his relief for a short moment.

Spencer pulled him closer again and leaned his forehead against Charlie's. "Oh darling! Are you _honestly_ jealous of him?"

He blushed a little because Spencer had seen through him right away. "Yes.", he shyly admitted, "I'm sorry!"

"Don't be!" Charlie felt his boyfriend's hand stroke his hair, his fingers playfully entwine in his curls and he knew Spencer wasn't angry at him.

"It's just... I know he's important to you."

Spencer's right hand had wandered downwards and his thumb was gently stroking Charlie's neck. "Yes, he's my best friend after all."

"And you've known him for so long. And you see him all the time. And he's really handsome." Once he had expressed his fear the words seemed to spout out of his mouth.

Spencer shrugged and just said, "He's not you."

Charlie didn't answer, he just closed his eyes and smiled. His lover's warm thumb was still caressing the side of his neck. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to doubt you.", he whispered again.

His eyes fluttered open in surprise for a moment when he felt Spencer's lips on his. "It's OK. Really!", the other whispered back after a short moment, "I think I like it when you're jealous. It's is a sign that you love me."

Charlie drew back and raised an eyebrow in mock surprise.

His lover's chuckle sent a little shiver of happiness down his spine. "I can't really prove it but I can tell you the facts from which you can deduce that you mean so much more to me than he ever will! To begin with, I've worked with him for years and never has the thought that he's more than a friend crossed my mind. Not once. Secondly he keeps teasing me because I'm socially awkward. Everyone just sees me as 'the genius'. My friends like me but still, to them I'm not normal. You're the first person ever who makes me feel completely comfortable as who I am."

Charlie nodded. "I think I see."

"And then there's the fact that I'm incredibly attracted to _you_..." The words were barely audible and the last part of the sentence melted into another kiss, deep, slow and gentle.

Charlie felt his knees go weak. "Would you come to work with me tomorrow?", he whispered as they separated. "It might help to take your mind off things."

The other smiled at him. "I'd love to."

Charlie knew exactly that Spencer sucking his lower lip wouldn't help him focusing on his work but he found that he didn't care at all. He'd worry about that later. "Come on, let's get started with the dinner." He had promised his father that they'd prepare dinner for tonight.

Spencer nodded with a reassuring smile. "Sure."

In contrast to the other evenings today's dinner conversation was less forced than usual, mainly because Spencer was more at ease than before. Charlie was slightly worried when his father remarked on the changed mood because he didn't want his lover to be reminded of his past now he seemed to feel better about it. Spencer, however, didn't appear to be as bothered as Charlie had anticipated. "Yes, I think I have been a bit broody in the last few days.", Spencer told Alan with an slightly rueful smile, "I do apologise for that." After a moment of hesitation he added, "You see, I had to arrest my father on the suspicion of child murder. That was... pretty shocking to say the least." He sighed and avoided everyone's gaze by looking at his plate.

"Oh, I didn't knew! I'm sorry to hear that!", Charlie's father said and Don appeared to be just as taken aback.

Spencer looked up when he heard their words and seemed relieved. He cast his boyfriend a remorseful glance and Charlie understood that he didn't feel alright about not telling his lover's family the whole story. Charlie took his hand under the table and squeezed it to let him know he understood and had no bad feelings for him.

* * *

><p>Spencer was quite fascinated by Charlie working. He knew he should be calculating determinants of several different matrixes instead but he found he couldn't take his eyes off of the young, mathematician who was standing in front of a dark green blackboard, just like when they had first met. Charlie was completely lost in thought, eyes either fixed on the white writing or darting across the surface to check other results. Sometimes he would stop for a few seconds, his left hand would delve into his curls and he would bite his lip, until he'd figured out how to work on and then he'd begin to scribble again, fast, faster than anyone Spencer had ever seen. Not one of his teachers at university had been that brilliant. He realised it was even a tad too fast for him. For once he didn't have to wait for the results but they were there before he'd thought of them.<p>

It was then he started to regret not having chosen a career at university or at a research institute. He could have been working like this for all his life, too, surrounded by people who understood his passion for mathematics. He had considered it for a while but then Gideon's job offer had come in and it had sounded so very tempting, so very exciting. He'd thought it would be his chance to become an accepted member of society, maybe even a popular or admired one and weren't FBI agents always the cool ones in the movies?

Reality hadn't been quite like that. Not that he regretted getting the job though, he had found great friends through it and he liked the feeling that he was helping the world by finding the baddies. It was just that he realised at that very moment how much he'd missed working with numbers on such a high level...

* * *

><p>"Honey, did you figure out the determinants?"<p>

There was a slight hesitation before he heard Spencer answer, "Erm... Not all of them yet."

Charlie looked up in surprise and caught the other man blatantly staring at him. When their eyes met Spencer cleared his throat and looked at the sheet of paper in front of him. A slight blush was beginning to cover his cheeks. Charlie had to chuckle. He put the chalk on the rim of the blackboard and went to his desk where the other was sitting, now preoccupied with the equations on the sheet. He leaned against the table, and said with a warm smile, "Looks like I'm not the only one who keeps getting distracted."

Spencer looked at him again and smiled shyly. "I'm sorry! I was supposed to help and now you can't continue because of me..."

Charlie smirked. "It's okay, really. I don't mind being admired."

The young man sitting at the table couldn't help bursting into laughter. Once he had calmed down again he nodded and winked. "Actually you were quite right there."

Charlie's smile softened and he reached out to stroke his lover's cheek, an almost automatic gesture, for the need to touch him was always there, in every waken moment. Gently he weaved his fingers into the long brown hair. It reminded him of the many times he had done this little movement of the hand before, sometimes during sex when both their feelings for each other had been overruled by desire, and sometimes in perfectly innocent situations, like this one right now. For a moment he considered giving in to the temptation and kiss his lover but he knew exactly that the kiss would construct a bridge between the innocent and the erotic, a bridge that would appear all the more inviting the longer it would last.

Larry had once said that the math department was the least libidinous place on the whole campus. Charlie remembered how he had been confused by the fact that somebody would use the words 'campus' and 'libidinous' in the same sentence, and how he had wondered why the math department in particular was so un-libidinous. Why was it less libidinous than, for example, the physics department? He had been pretty sure that libidinousness was no variable ever considered in physics. In biology, maybe. But definitely not physics. And he was convinced that with Spencer in it, the math department had just gotten a ten out of ten in its libidinousness scale.

He was interrupted in his thoughts by his lover saying, "You know, I quite like this."

"You like what?", he asked.

"This, being at university with you, working with you."

"I thought you might.", Charlie said and smiled warmly.

After a little pause Spencer changed the subject, his expression becoming more earnest. "You know, I've been thinking about how our relationship. How we're going to do this in the future."

Charlie finally took his hand out of the other's hair, and sat on the table. He nodded and looked back at his boyfriend. "That's something we definitely need to talk about. I don't like this being a long distance relationship, I want to be able to see you more often."

"It's going to be difficult to see each other, with my job.", Spencer began, hesitantly, while dropping his gaze.

He nodded again. "I know."

His lover looked up at him, and Charlie could see that he was a little afraid of asking the next question. "Would you... would you like it if we lived together?"

He grinned. "Definitely!"

"Wouldn't you miss your family? You've never lived with anyone else than them."

"I can visit them."

Spencer smiled widely at him. "You're really considering it?"

"No," Charlie replied with a very serious expression, "I am not _considering_ it. I am _liking_ the thought of 'cohabiting' with you."

"That's great!", Spencer beamed at him, and took his hand in his. "I... I guess I could find a job over here."

Charlie smiled a little sadly. "There's only one Behaviour Analysis Unit though."

"You know, today I realised I really missed this kind of scientific work. I can't do anything like this at the FBI, not on this level. I could work at a university, do research or something similar."

"Wouldn't you miss your friends?"

Spencer averted his gaze. "I... Yes. But I can visit them."

"You know exactly how unpredictable their job is! No, I'm coming over to live with you, in your flat."

"But your job! You're a full professor _here_."

Charlie shrugged. "I'm sure the University of Washington or the University of Virginia would like me to work for them."

"It's not the same though... and what about Larry?" Charlie had introduced his boyfriend to his best friend Professor Larry Fleinhardt this very morning.

He smiled as his lover repeated the same arguments he himself had used before. "His job is far more foreseeable than the ones of _your_ friends. Visiting him will be easier for me."

Spencer was absentmindedly looking at Charlie's shirt buttons, gazing into abstraction, and obviously giving the idea some thought. Finally he looked up at his lover. "Would you really do this?"

He nodded.

"But... what if you move in with me and you don't like it?"

"I _will_ like it. And if I don't, we can always find another solution."

After two seconds, Spencer nodded. "Okay then."

They exchanged a loving smile.

* * *

><p>~ The End ~<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: SORRY, I have let you wait quite a bit, again! =( I've been really busy.<br>**

**Also, I finally found some sort of ending.** **I hope you find it to your liking, although I myself am not entirely happy about it. Oh well.**


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